THE DEVIL RETURNS
by nhica.kazama
Summary: After a year of silence, all hell breaks loose and it will only be a matter of time before Dante lets more people die by the hands of his brother, the new King of Demons, Vergil.
1. PROLOGUE

**PROLOGUE  
**

 **The land of devastation was called Paradise.**

The young man stopped by the courtyard and tore his eyes away from the destroyed gate which carried name of the place. He only stood there, gaping. He never knew Paradise would look so desolate and forbidding.

The old mansion was in ruins. The crumbling walls were crawling with insects. Moss, filth and age clung to them longingly. The courtyard was covered with unkempt and overgrown grass, and the corners of the main walkway leading up to the front doors have become muddy. The whole place spoke of peace and love that was once extinguished and replaced by misery, despair and violence; the young man knew that the two brothers they were looking for spent their innocent days with their parents here, when they were both oblivious to the danger that lay before them. That was short-lived, the stories have said. On the day of their seventh birthday that very danger came to them, killing their mother in front of the older brother and taking their father to eternal punishment—that triggered the transformation of these two little boys, turning them into the person they were to be one day.

At least, that was what this young man had come to know so far, aside from the fact that the younger brother—he would have been glad to say he was acquainted to this one—had been parted from the other for many years. He left the people who helped him rise eventually, to search for his brother. From then on, the young man had not heard any news from him. He only hoped that his task today revealed of whatever had happened between the two, for a lot have already occured and it was only getting worse. The younger brother was said to be standing _against_ the older brother now. He didn't know how that was to be, and he did not have the slightest idea why either. He assumed it affected the youngest's past with their leader. All he knew was that this brother might be an enemy of theirs as well.

Heaving a deep breath, the young man walked across the courtyard towards the door of Paradise.

* * *

The young man was running. He'd been running for the past half-hour now, and his years of training was not helping; he was shocked, confused, and scared out of his wits to try to focus on what to do next.

He was not able to find any clues about the brothers' whereabouts, but he was able to find signs that one of them (or probably both) had stepped foot here recently, although that was all there was to it. He was about to leave when he thought of visiting their mother's grave by the far side of the mansion to give his respects to her, but then he felt something: a presence, so powerful that he wondered what it was, braving the area to check it out when he saw, to his horror, _someone_ within the vicinity, and that someone was—was that even human?

 _Was that_ him _?_ the young man thought desperately. The form was of a human being's, but the appearance—that was not human at all. It can't have been. The blue light, the glowing white eyes, the voice when he addressed him—they were of a demon's. And demons have been missing for the rest of the year.

 _Damn!_ the young man screamed in his mind. He had to get away, his strength was not enough. Trying to hold him back from headquarters would be a stupid thing to do, obviously: whoever, or whatever, was after him would definitely be able to kill him in less than a second because his presence was that strong. But if he had to keep silent about the others' location if he was found, then . . .

He shook his head.

The young man ran into a ruined bedroom and slid under the bed. The mansion was mostly derived of its furniture, and even though hiding under beds was a very cliché thing to do, he had no other choice. If he had a chance of escape—any chance at all—he had to try. Dying was not a part of his task today. He should have expected some sort of danger to come his way, but dying?

He took a deep breath, ignoring the coat of sweat that dripped down his forehead. His heart was banging against his rib cage; it seemed as if it was also forcing its way out of his chest, like what he was trying to do now, away from this demonic being that roamed the walls of Paradise.

The young man bit his lip. Would he be able to escape?

"You can't hide from me forever, Arwin . . . ," a hollow voice said darkly. "At least show me that you're glad to see me. Then we'll talk."

The young man stared wide-eyed at the bed springs above him. His heart seemed to stop beating.

"Come on, Arwin. It's still me . . . ," the voice continued.

The young man glanced up, on the floor. Footsteps were echoing throughout the corridor outside, and when he focused on the door, a pair of feet emerged and stepped in the room, disturbing layer upon layer of dust. He gulped.

"I can see you, Dunn. Get away from my bed."

The lad tightened his hand on the long dagger in his belt. Numbness ran through him as he pushed himself away from the bed and stood, staring through the figure. He did not want to look straight at him. If he was about to die, he was not going to waste the last seconds of his life looking at his horrid face.

"You're avoiding me." The demon sneered. "You hurt my feelings."

The young man glared, but not at him.

"Where is your brother?" he finally spoke. He was shaking. He had to think, he had to somehow think about how to get away.

"Oh, _him_. He's just out there. I imagine he is having a hard time dealing with the situation he is in, but that is exactly what I'm wanting. He's going to have to get ready for the next things to come his way."

"You've changed."

"If you're talking about my appearance, well, you're not getting that wrong."

"What are you doing here?"

"What are _you_ doing here?" the demon snapped. "This was my home."

"And it looks like you never went back to stay."

The young man saw the demonic figure study him carefully, his white eyes austere and shrewd. He kept his right hand on his dagger, slowly stepping away.

The figure noticed his movements, however.

"You can try, Arwin. But you're not getting away from me. All of you won't be able to."

The young man grabbed something from his pocket and threw it on the floor. There was a small explosion and smoke covered the whole scene. The lad backed away and ran out of the room, sprinting with all his might to the other side of the mansion, to the drawing room where he hid, behind a moldy old couch, grabbing his phone from his jacket pocket, tapping rapidly on it. He quickly jabbed it on his ear.

"Andrew," he gasped. "I'm here—I-I've found _him_ —God, I'm not even sure if it's him, he's trying to kill me—I don't know! No! Don't come here! Don't—fuck that, don't take her with you! No, listen to me! If it's really him, he's not the same anymore! Andrew, for fuck's sake, don't come here!"

The young man hung up his phone and went to call another number. As he brought it back to his ear, tears began to fall from his eyes.

"Raia. Hey. I-I know this is weird for you since we're through, but— Forget it, I'm almost done here anyway," he said. He strained from sobbing. "No, I . . . I don't think so. I . . . I'm not coming back. I can't come back." He closed his eyes. "I love you. I'm sorry, and I love you."

Something hit the couch inches from his face. He dropped the phone without ending the call yet for the demonic figure was now suddenly standing before him, grabbing him by the scruff of the neck and looking extremely outraged by now. The young man closed his eyes, hearing a girl's voice which came from the phone, and the figure's last words to him.

"I tried to be friendly with you, Arwin. But you're not with me."

There was pain. But it was immediately gone.

* * *

" _I am sorry for your loss. But this is all your fault. If you'd only stuck with me, all this would have not come to a more violent end. You always like to think about yourself, how important you are, don't you? Huh. I'll be here to stop that. Don't even think that, with this death, I am done._

 _"_ _I'm just getting started, brother."_


	2. 01 - Hunted

ONE

 **Hunted**

 **Dante was furious the whole year.**

He'd been planning to get home in time for dinner, but now he found himself staring down at the city, standing on the ruined rooftop of a building, under the light of the moon, on the spot where he almost killed his brother, leaving a rather large patch of clear ground in the middle, looking as if it was truly intended for their duel. Kat never forgot to remind him that he should avoid this area since nothing else had been happening lately, but Dante, out of habit, always found himself being dragged by his own feet to this forsaken place. He did not know why he frequently fled the apartment to get to this unattractive spot, but he was pretty sure that the destroyed buildings around him kept calling out to him to come and remember everything that had happened for the past year.

He surveyed the sight below him. There were a number of people that walked here and there. Buildings stood in ruins, and very few were under renovations. The government had been working all year to get everything back to normal, but obviously, they were doing a poor job at achieving that.

Dante found himself chuckling humorlessly. _They will never be able to fix all this._

He spent the hour there, alone, in his thick blue coat, hood pulled up to hide his snowy-white hair and his gray-blue eyes. His hands were starting to shake. He balled them up and he bit his lip. Everything was so quiet, so steady, but it was not peaceful.

 _Where are_ they _?_ He thought angrily.

Demons walked the earth freely twelve months ago, killing numerous humans everywhere. This happened when Dante and Vergil closed the Hell Gate to defeat Mundus. There had been no other way to kill him other than close the Gate in order to remove his immortality. Accomplishing this caused Limbo to collapse with the real world, and it was one of the most terrible sights Dante had ever seen in his life: Deaths, everywhere. There were no exceptions. He had to witness a young girl be ripped apart in half by a Tyrant demon, a creature that was nine feet tall and thrice as wide as a normal human, with a golden-brown color of a body. And it was as if it were never enough—lesser demons had to devour that poor little girl right in front of him.

After their blessed four weeks of freedom, however, they suddenly disappeared, like they never existed. Dante had been battling a Witch demon one time, and when he was about to pierce her with his sword, she simply vanished into thin air. One second, he was glaring at her, then the next, she was gone. Dante had no idea how, and why, that happened, but he was not planning to let his guard down, nor was he going to celebrate their disappearance, like the humans did when they did not show themselves again. Demons are demons. And with Vergil missing in action, Dante was certain that something wrong was happening already.

Dante looked up at the bright moon. He could remember when he and his brother fought over the freedom of mankind. He could remember being in the state of wanting to _murder_ , to see someone die in the mercy of his trusted weapon, but after that, when Dante was in his right mind, he could not help but feel bad and broken. If it had not been for Kat, then . . .

Oh, for Kat. Bless her soul.

If Dante felt like he wanted to disappear off the face of the earth, Kat was worse. When Vergil left them and the demons vanished, she was quiet for the first few months of his absence, always shut up in her room most of the time. The only chances he'd seen her out was when she ate her meals and she needed to use the bathroom. And every time he saw her . . . well, let's say her eyes were always red and puffy. Dante could not talk to her for he was scared of seeing her break down in front of him. Sure, she assured him she was on his side, but somehow he can't help but think she partly blamed him for making Vergil go away. Kat hadn't exactly said anything, but the words were hanging in the air. And Dante could not stand staying all day in the apartment thinking that anytime soon, she'll start attacking him with accusations and leave. He didn't want to be alone. But he could not handle hearing the truth from her either.

Dante looked away from the moon. He felt mocked. He felt so frustrated. This uneventful year made him so angry that sometimes he considered just running away, forget all this. He could not even look Kat in the face anymore, now that she was ready to be around him and talk to him, although their conversations consisted mostly of Kat warning him about this place he was standing on right now. She never mentioned Vergil.

He couldn't help it, really, sitting his ass off their couch. He'd visited their old home, Paradise; the grave of his mother; the old headquarters of The Order, yet there was still nothing. He even intentionally looked for trouble, purposefully calling out to his brother and to the demons to come back only to have Kat argue with him and the people around them to look at him as if he was some sort of monster for wanting the nightmares to return. Just for the sake of having something to do and to figure out what on earth was happening, he did all he could, but to no avail.

What was going on?

Dante turned his heel. The cold night air was finally stinging his face. Even standing up here meditating was trying his already-tried temper.

Jumping down the ruins in front of him, he landed with a flourish on the lightless streets. Seeing to it that his hood was still pulled up, he began to walk down the empty road, hands in his coat pockets, his head bent low. He tried hard to push away his depressing thoughts. He could not handle all the negativity any longer.

Dante paused quickly. He stared at the few people walking ahead of him, the destroyed buildings all around, then behind him. There was nothing, only the street and the darkness of the night.

He looked back onwards. He was sure he felt something.

He glanced over his shoulder once more.

Nothing, again.

Dante lowered his hood, totally obscuring his eyes. He resumed walking, this time faster, because whatever it was he felt, he did not trust it.

* * *

Dante halted in front of a haunted-looking building, just at the end of an alleyway. There was a small queue lined up by the door, and a couple bouncers stood blocking them, one of them holding a clipboard and a pen. He ushered a couple inside, then turned back to the queue.

With a smirk, Dante moved on, toward the bouncers. Soon as he'd approached the guy with the list, his companion stepped up and blocked him.

"Whoa," he said, his gravelly voice shutting the muttering queue up. He looked Dante up and down, chuckling.

"This ain't the place for ya, pal. Look at 'em," he motioned to the line, where kids and adults watched curiously at the commotion, the people from the back standing on tiptoes to get a better look at Dante.

"Unless you'd want to upgrade to the 21st century, you ain't allowed here," the guy with the list told him. "And bless them rags you're wearing . . ."

"What's with the hood?" the other bouncer sneered.

Dante glared at him, then to the other. The one who blocked him peered closely at him to take a peek at his face, but he stepped back.

"I deserve to be inside," he said lazily. _Since I've saved most of your goddamn asses,_ he added to himself.

"Hey man, if you're not on the list, just fuck off!" A kid hissed from the queue. "We're not waiting here forever!"

Dante rolled his eyes. He tried again, walking forward for the door, although the man with the list stepped before him and snarled,

"Sorry, kid, you're just not allowed inside. Move. _Out_."

Dante stared at him. He wasn't just gonna let it that way, was he?

"Move, kid," his buddy snapped at him. "Can't try us."

Dante stretched his neck. Of course he was going to try, he'd always been good at that.

It happened too fast: There were screams and gasps as Dante kicked the bouncer at the shins, the list falling off his hands; his companion reacted but it was too late: Dante turned on him and punched him across the face. He fell on the ground, motionless.

Silence washed over the queue. Dante stared down at the bouncers, one unconscious and the other in tears, holding on to his shins. When he glanced back at the crowd, they gasped as one, moving back from him.

"I don't think I have to get my name on the list," Dante told the crying bouncer. "Do I have to?"

The man sobbed. "J-Just get t-the fuck inside!"

Dante grinned. "Thanks."

He pushed open the door, a rain of colors and music greeting him.

The hall was huge. If the outside seemed dead and lonely, the inside was alive and noisy. People danced here and there, and in the middle of the hall spread platforms and dancing poles, all of them occupied by dancing fake-winged women wearing lingerie.

Dante pushed through the massive crowd, a bit surprised at the scene he was witnessing. He didn't know people could still enjoy activities like this, what with the happenings outside. Waiters passed by at every space they could squeeze through, carrying trays full of drinks. Dante grabbed one and downed it all in a gulp, setting the shot glass on another tray passing by. He could feel the drink burn his throat. He could use some water—not that he wasn't used to alcoholic drinks, but he felt the want to have some of it, and a really cold one would do right now. . . .

Dante pushed through a small space where a couple stood, kissing, forgetting about their dance. When Dante broke them apart, the guy started cursing at him although he ignored them and went for the counter where a few people sat and drank. He grabbed a nearby stool, sitting beside a lone figure to his left. The bartender approached the figure, handing him a glass of champagne.

"Had no idea champagne still sells," Dante said. The bartender turned to him, rather offended.

"'Course they do. If you know how to look around," he grumbled, shaking his head in disbelief and moving away. Dante figured the man was having an awfully bad day, but thinking about it, everyone outside the club rarely had happy days, even he himself. So that wasn't an excuse.

"I haven't taken anything yet," he called, but the bartender ignored him, going back to his station with a glass and cloth on both hands.

A man suddenly slammed his glass down the counter. Both Dante and the bartender turned to him as the man lounged away from the counter and passed by another woman, spanking her sides.

Dante grimaced and turned to look at his silent companion, the lone figure right beside him. To his wonder and amusement, even this one was wearing a battered old trench coat, the hood pulled up, covering his face. He tried to peer at him although the other focused on his drink. Dante heard him grunt. He stared: the grunt was rather soft. He straightened up to try and talk to him, but the man was already standing and pulling a dollar out of his pockets. He laid it down the counter and walked away, leaving his unfinished drink behind.

"Hey," Dante said. "You left your champagne!"

The mysterious figure paused and waved his hand lazily, meaning to say it was his now. Dante could not help but stare again. The hand was small and pale and had pretty slim fingers, each of them wearing a ring. He did not know why he hadn't noticed it, but the hand's fingernails were coated in black nail polish.

Was that a girl?

"You can't be serious," it was the bartender who spoke. He crumpled the bill the guy just left and tossed it on the floor where it landed on Dante's feet. "What happened to asking for one? And my drink isn't simply worth a fucking dollar."

Dante bent down and picked up the crumpled bill. He unfolded it, examining the old paper. There, written on capitalized letters across George Washington's bust,

 **BEDROOM.**

"Okay . . . ," Dante muttered to himself. Could things get any weirder?

"Can I have this?" he asked the furious bartender who only cursed and stormed out of the colorful hall.

Shrugging, Dante folded the dollar into his own pocket and gulped down the champagne. Without wasting another minute, he made his way again through the crowd, more reckless this time, causing more lovers and dancers to part and swear at him. He had to find that mystery guy, or girl—whoever that was. He had to make sure his newly formed theories were correct. And no, he was not planning on going back to his bed duties. He wasn't even thinking about that now.

Having managed to escape the sweaty and dancing crowd, he stopped in the middle of a corridor where doors lined both sides. The music was muffled in this area, but there was still much more noise all around—there was a lot of moaning and banging coming from all the bedrooms that Dante need not fuss over what was happening behind each door.

If the figure was a girl, he thought, what could she want? Was he or she even talking to him through the dollar?

Hesitating, doubt now clouding him, Dante snorted. Of course it could have been a joke.

But what if he was being followed . . . ?

"Pro'lly not," he sighed, turning and moving away.

 _Crash._

Dante quickly span back. To the far side of the corridor, a door stood open eerily. No one emerged.

Shaking the feeling in his gut, Dante walked across the corridor, his footsteps echoing despite the united sounds of sex all throughout the place. He stopped in front the open door and saw that the bedroom was empty except for hot pink wallpapers, a large bed covered with red velvet, and a long, smashed lamp lying on the floor.

 _Now there is something fishy going on_ , Dante mused. He stepped inside the room, surveying the broken lamp before his feet. Noticing it upon closer inspection, he immediately realized that there were thin lines of blood on the shards of glass.

"What the hell is this—?"

"Glad you checked my bill," a voice behind him said.

Without thinking, Dante quickly grabbed from his belt and pulled out a silver gun and pointed.

"Don't shoot."

Before him stood a girl. She held a long dagger and was pointing it directly at his face. A battered old trench coat lay on the floor.

"Who the f—" Dante felt his voice faltering. He found himself staring wide-eyed at the girl.

She wasn't anything he'd seen before. This girl was unnaturally beautiful. She was still young, maybe around his age, nineteen. She had a radiant, gorgeous face that was almost covered by her stylized bangs, most of her obviously dyed black hair tied to the side. She had chocolate-brown eyes that were lined with thick makeup. Her lips were blood-red; Dante assumed she had an obsession with lipstick, though he was not going to make that assumption final: she was still a stranger after all, and they were there in a bedroom where a possible crime had been committed.

Probably committed by this beautiful girl here.

"You—" He gulped, noting his rather feeble voice. He cleared his throat and went on, "You're the one who ordered champagne?"

"Yes," the girl said pointedly, hissing between her perfect white teeth. "Would you care to put that gun down?"

"You could put the dagger away."

"You could attack me anytime."

"Who are you then? Have you been following me?"

"Yes."

"Care to tell me why?"

The girl's eyebrows knotted together, as if seeming to choose her words very carefully, but when she spoke, out came a rather nervous blurt,

"I need your help."

"My help?" Dante repeated, never lowering his gun. "D'you even know who I am, princess?"

"Just confirmed that. You should try to hide that amulet sometimes," the girl muttered darkly, her eyes motioning at the ruby amulet that bound Dante's neck. "You're quite the celebrity, son of Sparda."

Dante fought back the urge to touch the jewel. Brows furrowing, he hissed, "Who _the fuck_ are you?"

"I work for a barely surviving anti-demon organization like The Order. Something happened. I need your help. You have to come with me."

"Why should I?" Dante cursed under his breath.

"It's about your brother, demon boy. This is about Vergil."

Dante froze. He abruptly lowered his gun and even his hood, revealing a messy tangle of snowy-white hair.

"What about him?"

"Not him, not entirely. What he'd done."

"You'd better tell me—"

"I will tell you along the way. You have to come with me."

"You better tell me _now_ ," Dante snarled, taking a threatening step toward the girl who backed away, raising both her hands in a fighting stance, her silver dagger keeping him in check.

"I'm pretty sure Kat would want to hear what I am about to say," the girl said through gritted teeth.

"You— _How'd you know about Kat?_ "

"I told you, I've been keeping my distance," the girl said, dropping her dagger this time and slipping it behind her. "I will tell you everything."

Dante glared at her. He concentrated at her rather unreadable eyes, trying to look for some lie in there. After a minute, the girl scoffed and hissed,

"Dante. You need to believe me."

"How on earth should I believe someone I don't know but seems to know a lot about me?"

The girl held up her hands. "Look. If I were to hurt you, I should have done that a long while ago."

Dante snorted. "You can't take me on."

The girl folded her arms on her busty chest. "Believe me, sweetheart, I can."

For one last time, Dante stared closely at her. She wasn't blinking now, and the determination on her face never wavered.

He grunted. "Am I sure I could trust you?"

"That is up to you. I don't trust you either, but we're out of options."

"Enlighten me."

"I will tell you if Kat is here. We need to get to her right now. I am not the only one tailing after you."

"There are others?"

The girl moved away from him and made towards the other side of the bed. She motioned there and when Dante stood beside her, he could not help but gulp back his shock.

A corpse rested on a pool of blood on the floor. Its limbs were scattered a few inches from its dismantled body: an arm, a couple fingers, and a pair feet were there. There was also a splatter of blood on the wall, but the room being dark, the wall covered in hot-pink, and adding the large bed in the middle of the room, it was impossible to spot it from outside.

"You did this—?"

"He was possessed by a demon. I guess he knew he had no chance of winning against me, so he did this to himself. He almost dirtied my clothes. Lucky I was quick enough to get away but I smashed the lamp over there; I think I scratched my arm."

"Possessed? Demons have been missing for over a year," Dante pointed out suspiciously.

"And you think they're gone forever?" The girl spat back. "It won't matter if it took them years to come back."

There was no arguing with that. Dante remained silent, setting his eyes on her instead. She was still looking down at the corpse. He could not stop himself from staring at her lips, but he mentally checked himself and asked, "How'd you know they'd been following me?"

"I'll tell you later."

"I'd be a bit comfortable if I know what I am dealing with—"

" _Later_ ," the girl snarled fiercely. "There could be ears all round, for all we know—"

There was an ear-splitting scream.

Without a moment's hesitation, Dante and the girl darted out of the bedroom and were already standing by another door when a naked woman stormed from it and cried to them, "Demon! _Demon!"_

People, most of them without their clothes, were already streaming from their own bedrooms. They glared at the woman who screamed again and tried to run towards the music hall when something black jumped at her, causing her to fall and cry. That something began to gnaw at her until her screams died out, a stream of blood spilling underneath them.

Silence had fallen, except for a sound of dripping coming from the thing that quieted the woman. It turned, its head bearing no eyes, no nose, but a mouth. A wide, sharp-teethed mouth. It opened wide and let out a long, rattling snarl.

Chaos happened next. Screaming, crying, running—and before Dante could understand what he was doing, he was already shooting in all directions, hitting corpses the demon flailed at him instead. It moved way too fast he found it difficult to succeed with at least one shot. At his side, the girl was moving too, trying to hit the thing with a set of throwing knives. Her graceful moves did not work as well—all the knives missed its target. The crowd had dissipated outside, and the dancers had also run off, leaving nothing behind but the music.

"Damn it," Dante swore irritatedly. He was not a fan of dubstep.

The demon stopped crisscrossing. It landed onto the ceiling, a low, rattling sound coming out from its mouth. A long, black tongue came out from it, and like a cat, it hissed.

"What kind of demon is that?" the girl muttered breathlessly.

"I don't need to know," Dante told her, never looking away from the thing. From what he could gather, one small step could set this demon on the loose. He chanced a glance to his companion, thinking that so far, she had moved quicker than him (even though she only threw knives), what with her body being slimmer and lighter, and her movements careful and intuitive. If she could distract this abominable creature and corner it, he could do the finishing move.

The girl stared at him and must have seen the plan in his eyes. She nodded.

Both of them attacked: Dante with a single shot from his gun and the girl with a throwing knife, which missed; the demon leaped at her since she was nearest, although her left hand being occupied by a silver dagger, she thrust it at the thing, cutting off its arm that disappeared in a thin black smoke. The demon screeched so loudly it left an awful ringing in Dante's ears. Having been disoriented, Dante found himself being flung back to the opposite side of the corridor, knocking the air out of him. He landed on a heap to the floor.

"Holy . . . ," Dante groaned, pulling himself up. He watched as the girl dodged swiftly as the demon charged to her direction, her hands shining with daggers. She span and ducked, and having gained a second, used her weapons and ran it through the demon's head.

It was a wrong move, apparently: the demon was not dead yet. It screeched again, and with one fling of its ugly head, the girl was seen flying across the corridor and landed in a bedroom up ahead. There was a crash and a thud.

"Shit," Dante grunted. He stood up and ran towards the thing, ignoring the fact that the disarmed creature had managed to grow back its missing arm. He reached for his back and there appeared in a flash of yellow light, a flaming red battle-axe. He grabbed it, feeling its heavy weight in his hands—with one great effort he drew it back and smashed it on the ground: flames leaped from it and a fiery force hit the demon—it was sent backwards, landing onto the music hall's floor.

Dante immediately replaced the Arbiter on his back where it vanished into thin air. He ran to the bedroom where the girl landed, and seeing that she was up on her feet and massaging her shoulders, he made for the music hall to see the demon jumping at him.

"What the—"

The thing landed on top of him; he let out a yell of disgust as saliva and blood rained down on his face. He could not use both his hands for he was using them to block the creature. He aimlessly kicked with his legs, but it was no use—the demon clung tightly to him like some obsessive fan girl.

"Get—the—fuck—off—me— _youdisgustingsonofabitch_!" He thundered, eyes clamped shut; the demon screamed at him, covering his face with spit and blood. He growled, using his remaining strength to push the thing and pin it on the floor.

There was another yell, a thud and a crunch. Later he heard the sound of crushing, breaking of bone and tearing of flesh. The next thing Dante knew, he was strangling nothing.

He heard a clatter of steel then he sensed someone kneel before him.

"Here," it was the girl's voice, and Dante felt a cloth being pressed on his face. He took it gratefully and began wiping furiously.

"It's gone?" he said through the towel.

"Yeah."

Dante pulled the towel away and shuddered at the sticky filth on it. He threw it on the other side of the empty hall. He looked at the girl who breathed heavily, her eyes resting on her bloody daggers on the floor.

"Beheaded the damn thing," she said before he could ask. She turned to him, grimacing. "I told you I'm not the only one after you."

"Yeah, I could see that."

"Look, I'm serious. I'm surprised those demons hadn't taken you before I tried getting them off you. You haven't been careful enough."

"Then be thankful they weren't able to take me. If you need me that bad, that is."

"Oh, great. _Thanks_ ," the girl hissed.

"So you're still not going to tell me why the hell you need my help?"

"Of course I won't. There could be more demons after us and they might have backup. We have to hurry."

Dante frowned. After a while of thinking his eyes widened with shock; he immediately shot up to his feet and hissed, _"Damned fuck."_

The girl glared up at him. "What?"

He looked at her.

"Kat."


	3. 02 - Bad Business

TWO

 **Bad Business**

" **Kat, open up!"** Dante shouted in the dark corridor, his fist banging on a door. He was inside a three-story shabby old building, the windows dilapidated and the walls traced with cracks, scratches, and cockroaches. It was threatened to crumble at anytime. Unless they left, he would still call this wrecked apartment as home. He was still panting as he pounded, totally forgetting the girl behind him who had just caught up with him after a half-hour of running. She stopped behind him, doubling up and gasping for breath.

"Kat!" Dante shouted again.

"Would you— _please_ —calm down?" the girl snarled heavily. "You could've at least—waited—for me—and Jesus, stop that—you're making too much noise!"

Dante had not heard her. He kept on banging the door until someone from inside hissed "Wait!" It swung open, revealing a girl in a orange-bodied jacket. She had short dark hair and a blue star tattooed in the middle of her forehead. She wore short-shorts, her slender legs ending with dark old boots. Her bright green eyes stared wildly at the young Nephilim.

"Dante? What's going on, what's the fuss all about— _Hey_!" Kat whipped around as Dante stormed in the apartment and began grabbing everything he could—spray cans (which contained hideous ingredients for Kat's witch- and spell craft), pistols, ammunition, vials containing holy water, food, beer, his remaining box of pizza. He went to the kitchen table where he laid all their things, ignoring Kat when she said " _Who is she_?" The girl in the trench coat had gone after Dante and was checking the rooms, her daggers out as she inspected door after door.

"Has anyone been here, Kat?" Dante asked her.

She was confused. "What?"

"Has anyone been here?" he repeated impatiently.

"No—it was just me—what's wrong—?"

"She's telling the truth," the girl interjected, returning to the kitchen. "No visitors."

"Dante, who is she? What on earth is going on?" Kat demanded loudly.

Dante looked this time at the girl, saying, "Yeah, who are you again? You told me you're gonna tell me everything if Kat is around—"

"I keep my word," the girl replied, sighing. "My name is Raia Hwang. I'm also a demon hunter. You'd better listen to me carefully because I don't plan on repeating whatever I am about to tell you guys."

* * *

"Are you saying Vergil killed this friend of yours and left you guys a phone call?" Kat muttered incredulously. She fell seated on a chair and was shaking her head in disbelief. "How do you expect me to believe you?"

"We were able to record the call. I'll show you when you come with me," Raia Hwang said. "This—this friend of mine was a friend of his too." She looked up at Dante who remained standing, leaning on the doorframe of his room, his arms crossed and his jaw clenched. "They'd known each other when they were younger. Most in our group knew him; he'd been taken into our leader's care for eight years after all, then he left to search for you," she told him.

"Kat is right. Why do I have to believe you?" Dante whispered, but loud enough to be heard by both girls. He was irate. Absolute nothingness the whole year, now they were bombarded with many happenings at once?

"I am not lying, son of Sparda," Raia snapped. Her eyes suddenly softened when she added, "We really need your help. We can't do it without you."

"So that's how it works, huh?" Dante grunted, unfolding his arms. "I get a boring life but when shit happens to other people, I do their dirty work for them?"

"It's still about your brother," Raia said. There was that same distaste in her tone as she mentioned Vergil. "You're not just doing this for us. This is for you, too."

"What is this group you're involved in?" Kat broke in all of a sudden.

"It's called The Enlightenment," the girl answered. She also took a chair and sat, laying her trench coat down on the table. She was wearing a dirty white buttoned shirt and tattered jeans, her low-cut buckled boots' heels clicking on the cold tile floor. "We were a big organization once, like The Order. Then Mundus Era came, and it was hard. People dying, people leaving, people betraying us. Till it's just six of us left. Some of the deaths we'd experienced had been caused by the closing of the Hell Gate last year, and it was difficult. We've had you guys under our radar; we've just been keeping our distance, but when this friend of ours died in your home, Paradise, and that Vergil gave us a phone call—we figured that something was going entirely wrong and . . . we don't understand why Vergil is now . . . you know. Hates you."

Dante was about to slip his hands in his jeans pockets when her speech stopped him. His eyes fell back on her, and if earlier he'd been staring at her because she was attractive, now it was different—his suspicions were rising.

"I've been under your _radar_? You've been watching me for how long?"

"Seventeen months ago. When The Order finally revealed itself and had been promoting open rebellion against the government and you've allied yourself with them. Vergil knew that, and he was trying to drive us away, leave you guys alone. But we can't. At least, not our leader. He treated Vergil like a son. He took care of him, trained him, taught him everything he knew. When Vergil learned who he really was he started pushing all of them away." Raia glanced at her feet. "I wasn't there yet, I only joined for almost three years ago.

"We lost you guys when demons finally scattered, physically, all over the globe. We managed to find you again just last week. That was how I knew you were being followed, by Spotter demons. I kept on fending them off till I got to you. They easily tracked you because you kept returning to the rooftop."

Kat slumped in her chair. Her eyes averted blankly to Dante who paled, his patience decreasing. He was so angry now that he couldn't say a thing.

"You should've listened to me." Kat muttered.

"It will happen either way. If someone wants him dead, nothing will stop them from tracking him down," Raia told her.

"Yeah? And you think that's enough reason for me to believe you?" Dante glared at her. "I don't trust you. I _can't_ trust you."

"Dante, please, you have to believe me—" Raia said desperately, jumping up and moving to his direction.

"You want me to believe you? Then why did it take you so long? I've been stuck here for a year, even when I tried to put myself in danger just to figure out what the fuck is going on out there! And now you guys come running to me when I've _been under your radar for seventeen goddamned months_? _"_ Dante stormed towards her. The girl was forced to step back, her expression determined but fear clouded it momentarily. "You really had to wait for someone to die to beg for my help, is that it—?"

"We never had much luxury to get to you since we haven't been able to confirm anything, and both you and your brother were missing—we've had no news about you guys at all—only when—when Arwin died, we—"

"Well, good for you," Dante hissed. "You people have no idea how stupid I feel and played at right now. It's been a year. One whole fucking year! I've been burning my damn ass all year to get at least one single idea where the hell my brother is, or where all those demons went, while you guys are just watching me even if I was not able to find anything—AND YOU WANT ME TO HELP YOU?"

Raia made a face. "Dante. Please. We will do our best to help you find your brother too. Just please help us."

Dante spat, "I can't."

"Dante." It was Kat. Her voice was as cold as ice now. She sounded so different that the other abruptly turned to her. "We need them as much as they need us. We have to help them."

"You can't be serious."

"For heaven's sake, just take the offer. We have to find your brother." She was glaring at the table and looked as if she was addressing it. Her eyes were filled with anger.

And such was that anger that Dante could not recognize her as of this moment.

"Kat."

"We need to find Vergil. I have to see for myself."

Dante stared at her. Even if she did not frequently left the apartment to search as well, he realized she probably cared about Vergil more than he did.

Kat always did what he told her to do, did she not? And what did Vergil say?

Kat was just "useful." And being a human, she was only seen by him as his "subject." Nothing more.

Of course it hurt her. And hearing such news about him was not something to be proud of.

Sighing in defeat, Dante turned to Raia and said, very reluctantly,

"Fine. But you'll help us find my brother."

The girl's brown eyes twinkled. Dante could not help but blush despite everything: it was not only her appearance that made her beautiful; it was also in the way she carried herself.

And she was also tall, curvy, and—Dante tried hard not to look, but he kept glancing anyway—has a rather large bust, a bit of her cleavage exposed from the top of her shirt, the first few buttons left open. He was able to look away from it when she said gratefully, "Thank you. You have my word that we will help you search for your brother."

"What do we need to do?"

"First, we get out of here. We can't lose much more time." She glanced at all the items on the table. She took her trench coat and pulled it on, continuing, "Is this all you need? You have to pack up. I've got a ride waiting by the bridge heading out of Limbo City. We have to hurry up."

Dante nodded. He turned to Kat who was immediately on her feet, her silhouette disappearing in her room. She returned with a backpack, starting to stuff all their needs in it.

Approaching Raia, Dante said, "What am I to do, really? I gotta know right now. I could rest easy with that."

The girl gazed at him. She frowned with concern, and seeming to debate to herself whether or not to reply, she answered, "We . . . we couldn't retrieve my friend's corpse. I don't even know if Vergil left him there"—Dante winced at this—"I have to see." She looked away from him. Her voice shook. "I won't take him for dead until I see something. I just hope he's not dead."

"What made you think my brother could do that?"

"Vergil said it in the call. _'Don't even think that, with this death, I am done.'_ I will never forget those words. He even said that he was just getting started." Raia glared up at him. "I hope that won't stop you from helping us." She walked away and made for the door, waiting for them.

Dante shrugged, biting his lip. He saw Kat watching him warily, the hand gripping her backpack turning white as she held it.

"We could prove them wrong," she whispered.

"If we can." Dante muttered bleakly. "I just want all this to end as soon as possible."

 _BAM!_

Kat jumped; Dante quickly looked up at the ceiling. His hands went automatically to his twin guns, Ebony and Ivory.

"What was that . . . ?" Kat mumbled.

The sound came from the room above them. It wasn't supposed to have occupants anymore, all residents of the apartment had been eaten alive by demons—Dante had failed to save them and it haunted him every single night.

 _"_ _Don't move,"_ Raia hissed fervently at them. Another _bam!_ came when she mouthed, _It's gotta be them_.

There was a long silence between them as footsteps shuffled past their direction. There was also muffled cursing and scratches on the floor as furniture appeared to have been moved.

"We have to go!" Dante whispered feverishly. When Raia gave him a nod, he beckoned Kat to follow him. They moved quietly towards the door, all three of them clinging to their weapons; Kat pulled a pistol from behind her and held it guardedly against her chest.

Raia pushed the door slowly, so slow Dante was tempted to slam it open. He could hear the footsteps again, this time heavier. The other held her breath and closed it again, her eyes wide.

 _They're here,_ her glare told him. _They're standing by the door._

Dante signalled them with a nudge of the head, although Kat shook her head at him ridiculously.

"Dammit," a voice hissed outside. All three of them tensed. "We missed them. That girl keeps getting in our way!"

"You sure this is the right room?" another said. "We still have the other rooms, man."

"No, you idiot, the Nephilim kid would've attacked us right away once he's sensed us, _He_ said his brother is the aggressive type."

Dante froze. _He? His brother?_

"You think the hot chick got to him?" the second voice went on cautiously, though he wasn't lowering his voice.

"Do I look like I know?"

"I'm just asking, man, what the fuck is the matter with you?"

"What the fuck is the matter with me?" the first demon grumbled. "Well, I could feel my dick hurting! We fucking possessed those stupid bouncers! They're all just talk, they've got no punch in 'em!"

Dante's brain was buzzing now. _The bouncers?_ Was he that close to those who followed him?

What was he doing with his life that he could not even sense the demonic presence that lurked after him?

He could tell that Raia and Kat were glaring at him. He did not return their gazes. Without bothering to think, he pulled out his silver gun, Ivory, and kicked open the door. The girls yelped. He stared.

"What—?"

The corridor was empty. There was only darkness where the moonlight barely hit the walls. There wasn't also a single sign that two big men had been there.

"But—" Kat spluttered. "We heard them. They couldn't just—"

"We have to go," Raia said. "Just go, move!"

But none of them moved. Someone spoke behind them.

"You can't go just yet."

It was too late. Before they could turn to the source of a third voice, Dante, Kat and Raia were all blown backward, all three hitting the wall across. Dante was the quickest to recover from the attack; he jumped up and pointed both guns at the door.

Three men stood before them. Dante could very well remember the two bouncers he'd just beaten back at the nightclub; the other, he saw with a jolt, the furious bartender.

And he was chuckling right now.

"I was totally intrigued by your bedroom thing," he drawled, smirking. "But I don't think anything happened, so I'll just shut up about that and do my job." His eyeballs turned red and veins spread all over his face—they were blood circulating his nose, lips, and forehead.

"Who are you?" Dante snapped. He didn't pause to lower his gun. He could feel his back burn immensely. It built up, stopping the tension in his muscles. All he had to do was let it all out before they get attacked.

 _Come on._

The bouncers stood on either side of the bartender. They were simply looking back at them, waiting.

The bartender smiled. "Well, _what_ do you think I am? D'you even think I have time for this? I'm on a sched here."

"Hurrying from something?" It was Kat. She and Raia had gotten to their feet.

The demon ignored her. He was staring at Dante, his lips curling to a grin. He raised his hand. Then—

 _CRASH!_

There was a yell and a squeal; Dante glowered at the demon bartender as he launched himself towards him, his hand thrusting forward, meaning to hit him although he blocked it just in time with his longsword, the Rebellion.

The huge weapon gleamed despite the dimness of the hall. Gold and red sparks flew from it, the blade emitting a deadly glow as the hand that attacked its owner bled.

Without wasting another moment, Dante flung Rebellion; the bartender jumped back, cursing as his hand dangled uselessly at his side. It was bleeding. He easily wrenched the arm away and threw it on the floor, blood spraying everywhere. Instead of growling in anger however, he stretched out his cut arm and from the bleeding flesh within grew a long, rusty razor-sharp metal, the tip pointed and dripping with blood. The two bouncers rounded on Dante; their fists growing out huge claws; Raia hurled to the Nephilim's left and stabbed her dagger to the first bouncer's rib cage. She pulled it away swiftly then span to run both her blades through his head; her enemy swiped his meat-sized hand to hit her across the face, but with Raia's continuous shift of movements the bouncer's claw caught her shoulder, leaving a deep cut. She yelled in pain, retreating and waiting for him to dart forward to her. She shifted her daggers as he came on her with his hand raised; one quick swerve and his hand slid through the weapons. There was a loud, angry snarl and a wet _shuck!_ as his fingers parted from his palms.

"Bitch!"

Raia aimed a kick at him. He fell on the floor with a loud thud. The girl gave him no chance to move—she immediately threw her dagger and it landed right in the middle of his forehead.

The demon grunted and bled, slowly vanishing into thin air.

Kat was firing at the next demon. Most of her shots missed, a few of them hitting his chest and they weren't killing him. She kept on firing until the gun made clicking noises. She hastily fumbled for her pockets for a magazine, her hands shaking badly.

The bouncer sniggered. He approached her and swatted the pistol from her hands. She yelped and scurried back, still groping for a weapon.

"I'll make it easy for ya, sweet pea," the demon sneered, grabbing Kat by the neck, his own claws sliding back into his skin. She gasped, her hand still frantically fumbling and searching, the other gripping her captor's wrist. She was already turning blue; the demon was too strong for her—

 _Bang!_

Kat slid on the floor, the demon falling heavily on her. She had just managed to pull out a knife when the corpse disappeared, leaving behind a trail of black smoke. She panted, rubbing her chest and looking sideways. Raia was standing a few feet away, holding out her gun which had been reloaded. Her backpack lay open behind her.

"I—I could've taken him on—" Kat spluttered.

"Oh my God, thanks for saving my life!" Raia hissed sarcastically, reaching to pull her up.

Kat only glared at her.

"I hate human vessels," the demon bartender snarled as Dante attacked but missed. "They look weird when they die, and I feel too weak possessing them."

Dante did not answer. He was too busy focusing on how to get rid of his blade arm he had not bothered to make a remark about what he said. He stepped toward him and readied his sword, although with one flick of the bartender's hand the weapon snapped upwards and landed on the floor. Dante made to pick it up but he felt a kick on the side of his head. He fell down, grunting; the bartender jumped on him, stomping his foot on his chest. Dante coughed, his vision still blurry from getting kicked. He grabbed Ebony as the demon almost jabbed his blade at his face; the gun made contact with it and the arm slid up, catching the enemy off-balance—Dante whirled and stood, leaving the bartender rolling down on the floor. He took Rebellion and pointed it and the gun at him.

They were now glowering at one another.

"Who's leading you?" he said. He did not why, but he was shaking. He tried to refrain his hand from showing any signs of frustration, although he couldn't help it—he must kill this demon, right here, right now; but first he will need all the information he can get.

The bartender sneered.

"I could just take him to you, Dante. It's easier. You get to see who my boss is and I get my job done. He won't be angry at me this time. Besides," he squinted and grinned, "it's what I have to do. Take you to him. If you wanna see him, come with me."

Dante ground his teeth. He looked at his red eyes, seeing the malice on them. He still wanted to play around. He still wanted to do some more fighting before they finished this business. Surely he was telling the truth, though. He sensed it. Haven't they been looking for him for months now, after those days of just making him look like a fool for not being aware of what really was going on?

Before he spoke, Raia blurted out from behind him,

"You are _so_ not considering this."

Dante scoffed.

"We're not going."

"Then go on! We can always find ways to figure out who the boss is."

"Just kill him," Kat muttered. "This is a waste of time. We gotta move. We could have more of them after us."

"Not if this guy talks. We'll need to hear what he knows. The boss could be outside or is watching us. He'll know the next move. He'll know what happens next."

Raia scowled at him. "No, I doubt he knows anything. The boss is probably just waiting for him to meet you. He can't be out there ready to pop up anytime he wants. He's luring you out. To get it over with."

Dante was biting on his lip. The gun remained at the demon's face, his finger on the trigger. But he wasn't ready to shoot.

The bartender smirked. "Tick tock, Nephilim kid. Are you going to shoot me or what?"

Dante turned to the two girls, and it was a wrong thing to do—the blade arm swished past his hand and he yelped in pain, Ebony slipping from his grip and landing on the floor, his fingers drawing out blood; the bartender pushed Dante back, almost making him fall although he managed to grab the bartender by the scruff of the neck and throw him off. Taking Ebony and placing Rebellion on his back, he fired at the demon, his shots hitting him several times. The bartender knelt down, gasping. He spat on the floor and laughed hoarsely.

"You'd better stop the stupid tricks," Dante snarled. "Talk."

The bartender grinned, his teeth bathed in red. "Come on, man. You should know that by now. How hard is that to guess?"

Kat and Raia exchanged glances; Dante remained glowering down at him with his gun at the demon's head.

"Vergil's your boss?" he asked.

The bartender continued to smile at him. This time he was shaking his head, as if to tell him _How could you not know?_

Then there was something else happening to him—his red eyes rolled back and he fell down on the floor and spasmed.

"What the _fuck_ —what's going on with him?" Dante bellowed, watching as the bartender only jerked, red foam gurgling out of his mouth.

Raia took him by the arm and shouted, "Get away from him!"

"What—what is he doing—?"

The bartender's skin was starting to peel. His arms spread and his chest was pumping and spurting with blood.

 _"_ _Just listen to me, dammit!"_

All three of them stormed back to the apartment room. Raia shut the door with a slam. Loud, multiple _splat!_ s and _splash!_ es rang outside the corridor.

It took them a moment before they moved. Kat was holding on to the coat rack for support and was breathing heavily; Raia was staring wide-eyed at the door. Dante could feel his heart tumbling in his rib cage and found it difficult to calm down.

"Help me, what just happened?" Kat began shakily.

Raia paled. "You'll see."

"I don't think I can."

"You will. You've got no other choice."

Dante hurried for the door and wrenched it open, then wished he hadn't.

The corridor was covered in blood and guts. He saw a few fingers lying near the walls. Chunks of human flesh rested here and there. The bartender's cut-off arm lay a few inches from his feet and his blade was stuck at the far end of the corridor. To his horror, Dante also saw a pair of red eyeballs rolling to a stop in front of him.

"Oh God," Kat gasped. Her hands went up to her mouth. She turned away from them and bent down, throwing up.

"D-Did he just do . . . that?" Dante said quietly. He wanted to throw up too.

"Not sure," Raia mumbled, disgust marked across her face. "It just happens. Sometimes they do it on purpose, to shake me off. It happened a lot every time I tried getting them off your tail."

He stared at her.

"But the one I saw earlier didn't seem to explode."

"Well, yeah, they have their own way of doing things. I think that whoever they possessed may be fighting them inside. The demon earlier was muttering like crazy before he chopped his limbs."

"What?"

Raia rubbed at her forehead. "The owner of these bodies could've been mentally fighting them. It's what I'd been seeing. They explode if they're really dead and the demon has full possession of them. If you were possessed and you knew what would happen, wouldn't you want to take them off your body to avoid it exploding? It sucks dying that way."

Dante cringed. "Couldn't you like, exorcise them or something?"

"It's impossible," It was Kat who replied, straightening up and wiping her mouth with her sleeve. She sounded feeble. "Once you're possessed, it's too late. You can argue with them all you want, but once you're taken, you're as good as dead. Wiccan practice has also proven to be ineffective, with those types of demons."

"TV shows and movies are the only things that do exorcising. It's totally impossible in real life." Raia said. "Christ, this is so gross."

"The demons doing this—" Dante stammered. "Do they die? Or they just leave these corpses to explode?"

Raia frowned. "I don't know. Maybe they leave. When demons die, they turn into smoke, right?"

Dante scratched his nose. "Fucking hell."

"Preach it." The girl began tiptoeing her way out of the corridor, going on, "We have to go. They could have back up. Dave's waiting for us."

"Wait." Kat held up her hand. She was staring ahead, as if realizing something.

"What is it?" Raia called out, looking back over her shoulder.

"If these demons don't die and just leave their vessels . . . ," Kat was mumbling. Dante realized it too.

"Shit. They'll know where we are. And they'll know you're with us." He gazed at the girl who looked as if she'd been slapped across her face.

"Motherfuck." She gasped. "Come on!"

All three of them tore out of the building.

* * *

"We didn't have to go on foot," Kat panted for the tenth time.

"And I keep saying that it's easier to lose the demons this way," Raia snapped irritably for the tenth time as well. "Last time I tried to steal a car, they actually found me. I had to endure getting soaked in guts, you know."

"Eww," Kat said.

"Don't _eww_ me," Raia snarled. "We're already here anyway."

They stopped in front of a house. They've been running for three hours straight after leaving the apartment. The dark presence all over the place was getting stronger and Dante feared that had they stayed longer, more demons would have found them. Now he was just happy to leave the apartment even though it's been their refuge all throughout the year.

And with those disgusting remains of the bartender, he wasn't planning on spending the next few months scrubbing off blood and flesh, then vomit every time he tried to clean the horrible mess back there.

The house was obviously neglected, for the paint on the walls have already faded and chipped. The mailbox displayed on the lawn had fallen to the ground and dried blood was strewn all over the grass. Faint light, however, was seen through the windows and Dante thought he saw someone move.

"That'd be Dave," Raia announced. She jogged up the path to the entrance just as the door opened and out came a man carrying a shotgun. He seemed to be around his twenties and he had blonde hair and dark-blue eyes. He tugged at his leather jacket, letting out a puff of breath. He had a week's worth of stubble on his face and clearly he was tired, but he managed to look young and cheerful.

"Hwang—" the man began to say.

"Okay, Dave, I know," Raia quickly pushed him back inside the house. Dante and Kat went after her while Dave followed, confused.

"I was going to say I'm glad you're back, I was worried, I was gonna follow you when—" he said again.

"Dave, it's okay, we have to really hurry up. We've been ambushed and one of them seems to have escaped. They will be on our tails now."

Dave swore. Suddenly serious, he began grabbing shotgun shells and bullets from a nearby drawer. He moved on to a table where throwing knives and snacks and a dying candle rested, stuffing all he can into an old duffel bag.

"What happened?" he said as looted from cabinet to cabinet.

"Well, you know about those exploding demons," Raia said, snatching more knives from a bookcase and slipping them in her belt, "and how we're not sure if they're still alive. We're doomed. They could be reporting back or sending reinforcements."

"Could be the reason why we keep encountering more of them. Got rid of three in the last two days, and I've almost run out." When he glanced sideways, he saw Dante next to him watching them, and Dante had not realized that he'd been glowering all this time. "Hey, man. Dave Benson," the former said, holding out his hand. "Been around in the group since I was ten, and, um, I was kinda friends with your brother. I'm sorry about what's happening."

Dante blinked. They shook hands. "Uh huh. Me too."

Dave forced a smile. "Yeah." He withdrew from him, adding, "Got your ride waiting by the bridge over there, Hwang, and don't worry, I got her covered."

"You'd better," Raia quipped. "We don't have time for this. You can all get those introductions at HQ."

"Okay, okay," Dave scoffed, scooping up the last of his shotgun shells from under a chair. The house contained a lot of furniture but most of them were broken: couch, chairs, drawers, coat racks, vases—all destroyed, for what seemed like a long time ago.

"Uh, guys?" Kat was calling. She was standing by the window and looking outside. She craned her neck at them and went on, "You have to see this."

"What is it?" Dave asked, darting towards the window and watching. "Holy fucking shit."

 _"_ _What?"_ Raia snapped. She approached them and observed. She sucked in a breath. "Do I have to swear too?"

Black smoke was spreading outside. Even in the dark, the blackness was clear and haunting, and it was completely hiding the stars. There was also a loud, deep groaning.

"We seriously have to go," Kat squeaked nervously.

"Tell me about it," Raia said, already panicking.

"Go!" Dave shouted, throwing open the door and running outside. Dante went after him and gasped.

All sorts of demons were marching toward them. They were a whole army of monstrosity, and the group has only a few moments before they get caught.

"Fuck," Dante grunted. Both he and Dave began to fire at the nearest ones while making sure Kat and Raia were already out the house and sprinting away from them.

Harpy demons were zooming in to them, their metallic bodies glimmering despite the blackness of the night. Their red wings flapped fast, and now they were looming above the two men. Dante was forced to put back his guns and take Rebellion from his back, the handle taking the form of a claw-shaped head as he drew demonic energy from the weapon. He threw the handle out, the grappling hook clasping on to one of the Harpies, the claw snapping tight to its metal skin. Dante pulled the weapon back and the Harpy went straight to him, and before it made any contact, he kicked out his foot hard on the demon's face and it disappeared in a flurry of smoke.

More demons were closing in, and now Pathos demons were coming next after the Harpies: they looked like angel babies with metal for skin, their small feathery wings buzzing like insects. In their right hands they carried small crossbows.

Dante transferred angelic energy to Ophion (the handle transformer) then whipped it out again, the claw-shaped hook changing to a snake's head—it was his turn to fly right onto one of the Pathos demons and when he was close enough, he pulled out Ebony and fired at its face.

Dante landed on the ground. He span and sprinted back to Dave who was shouting.

"I'm out, I don't have time to reload for this! We gotta run!"

He couldn't agree more; both of them began to run as the house behind them got surrounded by demons. Their shouts, groans and roars broke the deathly silence of the night as they got closer. The black smoke above them kept growing and it was eating the night away.

Dante ducked just in time to avoid a large boulder from a Witch demon hovering behind them. He could now see the bridge, and it was twenty feet away. Kat and Raia were still up ahead, not looking back and were just running. Dave beside him was keeping up and was already thundering out a string of curses.

Something landed right in front of them; both were forced to jump back as the thing roared angrily. It was a Rage spawn, a huge, four-legged being that has a rat's face. Its eyes glowed and it growled threateningly.

"Son of a bitch," Dante exclaimed. Red and gold sparks once again flew on his back as his sword Rebellion appeared; he took it and charged—he dashed and brought it down the demon's head.

"Go on!" he shouted to Dave who was about to help. "I got this!"

"But—"

"Just run!"

Dave ran up ahead. Dante replaced his sword and took off, aware that the demons were only ten steps away from him. He was running out of breath, but he could not stop—

He and Dave were on the middle of the bridge when another thing happened. The roars of the demons abruptly sounded like cries—Dante wheeled around and stared.

A transparent barrier appeared from where they just passed, growing into a huge wall of translucent silver fifty-five meters high. All the demons that went through it were suddenly in flames, slowly vanishing from sight.

"What on earth is that?" Dave whispered, hands on his knees and trying to catch his breath.

Dante didn't answer. The demons who unluckily went through the barrier burned viciously, leaving not a single trace of their existence. Some from the horde were already backing away, realizing what was happening if they pushed on.

A pickup truck pulled over beside them. Raia and Kat got out of the vehicle and watched as well, their mouths gaping open.

The demons then, one by one, marched away, disappearing into the night as their fellows died, being devoured by the fires of that mysterious barrier.

They were alone on the bridge, Dave, Dante, Raia and Kat. They all stood in silence, Dante feeling himself turn into stone. He could not stand what he was seeing; the city looming darkly as if civilization has vanished off the face of the earth, and then there was this unpassable barrier glowing brighter than the moon which appeared again. The black smoke had dissipated.

The immediate silence was not comforting. Dante was nauseated and no matter how much he wanted to look away from the ruined city, he could not bring himself to do so. He could still sense the other three, as still as he was, speechless.

They've just been ambushed for the third time, and now there was no way Dante could return to the city he has sworn to protect. The civilians could all have been eaten and there was nothing he can do about it.

Dante felt sick. _Why_ was this happening to him?

A white shadow moved as if on cue. It flashed in a moment on the other side of the bridge opposite him.

It took him seconds to react. Dante stared at it closely. There was a glimmer.

Moving finally from where he was standing, he walked a few paces away from his companions while they called out to him. Dante stopped just two feet from where the barrier was, feeling the heat of the translucent thing. He squinted his gray-blue eyes at where he was still seeing the glimmer, but it disappeared just before he could figure out what he was staring at.

He found himself asking out loud, "Did you guys see that?"


	4. 03 - The Enlightenment

THREE

 **The Enlightenment**

 **The sun was slowly rising** as they drove. The trees rose and sank as they went from road to road, every now and then obscuring the cold light of the morning. They were now far off from Limbo City and were headed into a forest, the road getting thinner and bumpier.

Raia kept driving, carefully now as the other passengers slept soundly, for a lot of them had not slept in days. She was still wide awake, and Dante, the only passenger left awake, assumed she had too many things to think about to even consider sleep.

Well, he wanted to get back to bed and sleep all these problems away, but he had no time for that either. He'd been thinking about the sudden demon outbreak seven hours ago that taking a few hours' rest seemed absurd. They just left after the glitches he'd seen never returned, and from that point on, he found it hard to shut up. He even argued with Dave, Kat and Raia altogether, but when none of them had no ideas to offer to him and they kept contradicting whatever it was he had to say, he gave up, pissed and exhausted.

He wanted to go back and find whoever it was that built that mysterious barrier. He wanted to go and see what was happening inside the city and its citizens. He wanted to go back to see if there was any sign of his brother being there.

Of course no one wanted him to go back. And that was what made him pissed.

But he couldn't blame them. Those demons were looking for him. Going back might be the last thing he could ever do. Maybe they wanted to help, but they could not afford to risk their lives if their numbers weren't fit to face a horde of those monsters who all wanted to kill him. He was their last chance of trying to save the world. He was their only hope.

But he couldn't even do anything for Limbo City. How was he supposed to help find Vergil and save him from himself . . . ?

Dante leaned against the window. He was settled at the passenger's seat beside Kat who remained asleep, her head bobbing up and down along with the ride. Dave sat at Raia's right, snoring.

"We've got two more hours before we get there," Raia began, breaking the awkward silence. "Why don't you join Dave, he seems to be having fun."

Dante snorted. "You just don't want me talk about it again."

"What can I say? It's too dangerous."

He rolled his eyes. She'd been saying that over and over again. To be fair though, he'd been forcing them to turn back over and over again too.

"Who's Arwin?" he asked instead.

Raia went quiet at this. Her eyes hovered to the rear view mirror, her gaze falling on his. They were unreadable.

"He's your boyfriend or something?" Dante continued, his voice lowering.

Raia looked away. She shifted the wheel, avoiding a stray fox on the road.

"Ex," she muttered. "We broke up for over seventeen months ago. It was messy."

Dante did not say anything. Raia only kept driving.

"You won't ask why we broke up?" she said. "Lots of people do."

Dante grimaced. "I got a feeling you don't want to tell me."

The girl smiled, though subtly. He could not help it—Dante suddenly felt himself blush.

She was _beautiful_.

"Thanks," she said, looking back at him once more. She beamed, adding, "You're the first person ever to not ask me. I know it may be because you don't know me yet, but all the same, that's cool with me."

Dante tried smiling back at her, although he only stretched his lips. He quickly straightened his face and simply nodded.

"I can respect privacy," he said. He crossed his arms, leaning back on his seat. "But why did he have to go alone? To our home?"

Raia's small smile faded. Her expression was unreadable again as she answered, "From what I knew, he was close friends with your brother. So when we discovered his activities lately, Arwin, he . . . it's very personal for him. I'm not even familiar with the whole story. And it was too risky, he'd said. I mean, there were seven of us left. There had been fifty, from years before I joined. Now there's only six of us . . . I guess he felt it. The danger. He didn't want to risk the whole group's safety." Raia cleared her throat. "Yeah. Look where that got him."

Dante's chest constricted. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Raia said. He could see her knuckles whiten as she tightened her grip on the wheel. "Vergil must mean a lot to you, so don't ever have me around when you face him. I don't know what I can do once I see him."

Dante glowered back at the road. "Sure."

* * *

The pickup truck pulled over a forest clearing facing a large two-story cabin, beside two more cars: a Toyota Yaris and a Ford Focus. Dante, Kat, Dave and Raia got out, Dave taking his duffel bag and Kat's backpack from the open cargo area of the truck. He handed the latter to her, giving her a small boyish smile while the other two gazed up at the place.

"It's not much, but there it is," Raia said, beckoning to the cabin. "We also have a bunker. That is where our armory is. To be honest, we've only been here last year. We came from Washington and had to move because our previous headquarters felt compromised."

Dante surveyed the view. Its dark-brown colors have clearer shades of gray, the light of the early morning making it look like a hill covered in grayish snow. The huge cabin seemed peaceful, no matter how weathered it looked. It would have been more peaceful-looking if he didn't know that this one was some sort of headquarters used by The Enlightenment.

"Why did you feel compromised?" he asked, turning to her.

"The demon outbreak. When they vanished all of a sudden, it felt wrong. Their absence wasn't something to party about after all."

"Air's still way better here than the city," Dave mumbled, heading first, carrying the duffel bag over his shoulder. The others followed him, halting by the front door. He knocked three times.

The door swung open and Dante was surprised to find that there was no one behind it. He frowned and looked down, realizing his mistake—there stood in front of them a little girl, her curly blonde hair flying on her face, the ends of her pink dress covered with dirt and so were her small boots.

"Davey!" the little girl squealed, her small fists up in the air. She jumped up and down, running to him and hugging him by the middle.

"Nelly," Dave laughed, bending over and scooping her in one arm. He glanced back to Dante who was just behind him. "Uh, a little help . . . ?" he muttered, raising the duffel bag in his other hand.

Dante grabbed the bag. Dave grinned and went inside, motioning them to go in next. They stopped in the living room where a fireplace was lit and a row of deer heads on the wall were displayed. Stuffed armchairs and couches circled the center of the room. In the far corner, a tall shelf full of books stood.

"Wow," Kat whispered beside him. "Can I check those out?" she asked Raia.

"Yeah," she said. "Those are crazy books, but they're interesting. I'd suggest the folklore volumes."

"Thanks." Kat hurried over to the shelf and began pulling out titles.

"You've been playing around again, huh?" Dave asked Nelly who nodded enthusiastically. "Where's Andrew?"

"His office," she said, pointing to the staircase leading up to the second floor. Dave went towards it still carrying her, leaving his three companions behind.

Dante set the duffel bag down on the floor, turning to Raia and saying quietly, "Really? You got kids?"

The girl raised her eyebrows. "Obviously. But it's just Nelly."

"Are you kidding me? Isn't it dangerous for you guys to have little kids?"

"We're making sure they're protected. This cabin's warded all over, people wouldn't find this place. Most especially demons—"

" _They_?" Dante repeated sarcastically. "So you've got more?"

Raia glared at him. She shook her head, clearly taken aback. "Yeah. Just one. He's been in coma for most of the year and has just woken up three weeks ago. But he's older than Nelly. Around sixteen, I think."

Dante was confused. "Why? What's up with him?"

"You'll know later. I'm sure Andrew would want to talk to you about that too. And if you'll excuse me," she began making her way to the stairs, "I've got an injury to tend to." She tapped her left shoulder on where dried blood had stained her trench coat, the visible bandage showing from the ripped portion of the coat already dirtied.

Dante shook his head in disbelief. He ruffled his own hair and made for the armchairs, sitting. He almost jumped when he sank too low, but seeing that the chair wasn't in danger because of him, he leaned back and watched the fireplace. He looked over and saw Kat sitting on a couch beside the bookshelf, completely immersed in her reading. He smirked—Kat loved to read. It was one of her very few consolations in the past year. He assumed she even brought her collection from the apartment for he could see the bulging edges of her backpack which were shaped like books.

"You're Dante, right?"

He turned. A man was approaching him, his sandy-brown hair tied back by a bandanna. Like Dave, he was in pretty much need of a shave. He was wearing a sleeveless denim jacket with a black shirt underneath, the fading skull print on it almost unseen. His muscular right arm was covered in an assortment of tattoos.

"Yup," Dante answered, standing back up on his feet. The man stared him up and down with an indolent look on his face.

"Charlie Beck," he said nonchalantly, his Southern twang evident in his voice. He gave him a nod then stuffed both his hands in his jeans pockets. "I . . . kinda knew your brother too, but we ain't really close."

"I see." Dante shrugged, glancing again at the fireplace. "So where's your leader? Dave looked for him."

"Still in his office. They're discussin' stuff. I didn't hear much."

"Okay." Dante sighed. "So . . . is that all of you guys? You, Dave, Hwang, Andrew, Nelly . . . and that kid Hwang talked about . . . ? She told me there were six of you."

Charlie shook his head. Dante wondered what he could be thinking; he seemed so serious he doubted he would be able to work with him easily. He figured the man wasn't comfortable talking to people he didn't know. "Nah, Nelly's not counted. She's only five; we're not sure if she should be part of the group when she grows up. But there's Lucia. She's outside trainin' Nero. Poor kid's gotten to a lot of hell twelve months ago."

"The kid in coma?" Dante asked. "Hwang won't tell me what happened to him."

Charlie scratched his head. "It's a long story. He just forced us to count him in to the team and start trainin'. None of us could say no."

"Something tells me the rest will be told by the leader."

"Well, he wants to talk. We could go in there right now, Dave might only be tellin' him how the search went anyway."

"Lead the way," Dante said. He followed Charlie out of the living room towards the second floor, passing by a line of doors on either side of the corridor. One of them were opened, and before he could stop himself, Dante craned his neck to take a peek and saw Raia wrapping a clean bandage on her shoulder, her trench coat and buttoned shirt discarded, leaving her in her bra and jeans. She did not notice him for her back was turned on him.

Dante focused onward, trying to drive away his wild thoughts.

They paused by another door which was open an inch. They could hear voices although Dante was sure it wasn't Dave's or their leader's, Andrew.

" . . . there were very few civilians that escaped the area and were claiming to have seen demons roaming the streets. The city in question is now in a state of siege and authorities strictly warn citizens to avoid it at all costs. If there are more survivors out there, please contact the nearest state or local police. The US military are already gathering around this mysterious barrier that have suddenly surrounded the once powerful Limbo City . . ."

Charlie pushed the door and let Dante in, turning and leaving their guest glancing around. Dave was seated on the table at the center of the small room gazing up at the LED television displayed on the wall across. Another man on a checked shirt was on his right and was tapping his leather shoes on the floor. The two averted their attention to the newcomer, Dave springing up. Dante saw the other man move at the corner of his eye but he remained fixed on the TV. He seemed to be waiting and didn't appear to be in too much of a hurry.

" . . . I repeat, Limbo City is in a state of siege. Citizens who are near it must avoid it at all costs. Demon sightings have not yet been confirmed but the barrier surrounding it is said to be extremely dangerous. Network signals have been strangely eradicated in the area and contact from within and outside is impossible."

The television was featuring a haggard broadcaster in a suit. His forehead was shining in sweat and he was repeatedly wiping his handkerchief on it. On a smaller portion of the screen a live feed streamed, coming from outside the barrier of Limbo City, featuring it in midair, and Dante was prompted to watch as the cameraman in the helicopter kept on filming. What he saw was something else.

The barrier wasn't just a simple, gigantic circle. It was a giant pentacle enclosing the entire city, and each point of the star was shining brightly. At the center of the pentacle was the Silver Sacks Tower which still stood impressively despite the bizarre phenomenon happening all around it.

". . . while the cause of this barrier is still unknown, experts suggest that it may not have been created by the said demons, which, as we all know, have vanished a year ago, but people who are studying the supernatural also claim that they have not yet identified what caused this . . ."

Dante grabbed the remote from the table and turned the television off. He put it back on its place and rested his hands beside it.

"I should've stayed," he muttered angrily. "I should've just fucking stayed."

"It's better that you didn't," Dave said. Dante glared at him.

"You think it's better that I let those people suffer what I should be suffering?"

"No, man. I'm not saying that. But there's nothing we can do. We're going to have to figure out a way to get around that barrier. It's better that we are out here instead of letting our asses be stuck in there."

"But those demons are trapped along with the civilians. They're definitely attacking them. We should be out there protecting them—"

"Come on. What could have you done about it?" Dave snapped. "We talked about this. I know how you feel. I wanna go back there too, believe me, but we've got nothing there—"

"You don't know that."

"Do you?"

Dante clenched his jaw. He could only give Dave a nasty glare as the other guy gazed at him with a defiant look across his face. He knew he had lost this argument, again. They have been bickering even before they got here and Dante lost too many times. Dave was right. There was nothing he can do. But being himself, he could not stand the fact that he could not even do a single thing for Limbo City.

Just the thought of the civilians being eaten alive by demons terrified him. There was also that reminder about that poor child who was ripped apart in half and served as dinner from the previous year. It will never stop haunting him. He will never be able to sleep it away. He will never forget about that.

Dante turned away, flinging his attention to the quiet man watching them.

"You're not gonna say something?" he said sharply. "I think it's high time you told me what you know about my brother and tell me why the hell you had to spy on me when you could've just fucking went to me."

"Maybe you should calm down before you talk to him that way," Dave snapped again.

Andrew's eyes twinkled. He took a deep breath.

"Well, if you are done, I am ready to tell you what you want to know," he said calmly, his voice loud and commanding. Dante felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. "But don't you have any more things to say, Dante? I'd like you to go on if you do."

Dante's ears turned pink. He turned away, avoiding both of the men's eyes. He let the silence run them down as he tried to think of anything to say, although his brain was no longer whirring.

Andrew seemed like a man he could never mess with. He seemed strict, calculating and attentive—but of course they were needed for a leader, he knew that—and yet, there was still something in him that Dante could not quite explain. He was an aging man, sure, what with his brown hair disturbed with strands of gray, the wrinkles on his forehead standing out as his thick brows furrowed, his steady and unreadable eyes not showing any emotion—it was just simply there. Dante even thought he could see a little bit of Vergil in him. He was so calm but his gaze was filled with wariness. It was difficult to decipher his thoughts.

Dante looked back at him.

"No," he said finally. "No, I don't have any more to say."

Just then, someone barged in the room, breaking the awkward silence.

"Hey guys—" Raia quickly stopped by the door frame. Her black hair fell down on her shoulders. She was currently wearing a black tank top. "Oh."

Dante turned to her. They caught each other's gazes. His insides rolled like wheels; he was forced to look away from her as Andrew remained staring firmly at him.

"Okay, you people," Raia muttered. "Is there something going on?"

"Just a few seconds ago," Andrew began. "We're fine, Raia. Is there something you need?"

The girl hesitated.

"I was wondering if I should go get the others now or if you'd want to talk to Dante alone?"

Andrew gave her a nod. "Alone first would be preferable. Thank you."

Raia walked past Dante and pulled Dave by the arm, dragging him out of the office with her.

"Come on, Dave," she was muttering. "You look like you could use some air."

The other only gave a grunt.

"And Raia," Andrew added, "please show Kat to her room. If there should be anything she'd need, the bunker might have some more stuff you can provide."

"Sure," Raia said, exiting the room.

Silence befell them.

Andrew moved to his table, laying a hand on the back of his chair. Dante looked at him. He did not seem irritated or angry at all at his sudden near-outburst. In fact, there was this great look of concern spreading across his face as he regarded him thoughtfully, like he was still overwhelmed at finally seeing him for the first time and began wondering what this boy had been through all these years, with no one to guide him as he grew up.

"You don't remember me, do you?" he asked quietly.

Dante blinked. "No. Why?"

The man chuckled softly. "Of course you don't. With everything that happened to you . . ."

"Are you my uncle or something?"

"No, son. We're not related at all, but I've been close friends with your parents."

Dante did not know what to say. Andrew lost his smile.

"I know you're still having a hard time trying to believe me, Dante. I'm guessing Vergil never really took his time telling you about us. I understand that. It is not easy for you to believe that we've known your brother for years. But I am telling the truth. To be honest, I've grown to care so much for that boy like he's my own son. I would've done the same for you too only if I had also found you that day."

"Why didn't he tell you about us? Why had he kept that hidden? He told me he was adopted by another family, but not like this. He didn't mention you, an Enlightenment, or whatever else it is. How am I sure I can trust you people?" Dante took a deep breath. It all came out and he hadn't stopped to think about what to ask him. He felt obscured by the shadows. Now that he had blurted it all out he realized that he did not know anything about his brother at all.

Vergil was a stranger . . . and in the back of his mind, he can see him standing there watching as he got continuously mocked by fate.

Dante clenched his fists.

Andrew motioned to the chair at his side.

"Have a seat, Dante. I will tell you all you want to know."

He grabbed the chair and sat. Andrew settled in his and rested his hands on the table, linking his fingers together.

"I'm Andrew Cliffer," he said. "And as I have told you, I've been close friends with Sparda and Eva."

"How?" Dante said.

"It started when I dropped out of university and was hunting demons. I wasn't even aware they were demons then; I just saw monsters. There came a time when I almost got myself killed and Sparda saved my life. I owed him. He and Eva did not have a place to stay, so I offered mine since I lived alone; my parents disowned me for quitting law school. I found it wasn't for me. I kept seeing things: spirits, demons, you know name it. I thought I was crazy. The two of them told me about the demons, then the angels, and other neutral spirit forms. I begged them to train me, to help defend myself. In exchange, I'll let them stay in my house and hide for they said someone was hunting them down and wanted them badly. That someone wanted them dead. And you know who that is."

Dante didn't answer.

"That is where it started though. One day I saw a woman being hunted by demons too. I helped her. She asked me how I managed to beat them, why I could see them. No one listened to her and she was stuck in mental hospital for a couple years, once. When she got out, the demons chased her again. She wanted to know how I get rid of them, so I told her how. She asked if I was part of any group slaying demons, and that is where I got the idea. I proposed it to Sparda and he agreed. The woman became a part of the group. She was my wife, Catherine."

"Was?"

Andrew smiled bitterly.

"She was killed during an ambush. It was a long time ago."

Dante squirmed. He was quiet again.

"The group became bigger. We met other demon hunters who worked on their own. They wanted company, so they joined us, Sparda making sure none of them were Mundus's spies or cohorts. Some of them were like me and Cathy, the 'crazy' people, looking for a place where they want to belong. We also had our contacts. We pay them for the information we get, which are mostly about demons roaming the city and were disguising as humans: celebrities, politicians, businessmen, non-government officials, who were all using their power, authority, fame to keep the humans unaware of Mundus's work."

"Can you . . . can you tell me what happened the day Mundus found us? Where have you guys been? I remember that day. Mom was helpless, Dad had no other choice but to leave her to him because he had to get me and my brother away."

Andrew was highly disturbed at this. His face screwed up, his hands running over to it, momentarily covering it. He lowered them and said slowly,

"Your parents expected Mundus's arrival to your home. There was nowhere else to go for the hunt for them was getting . . . notorious. Traitors were rising from this point. They knew there was no escaping this. And so months before that, Sparda came to my house and talked to me about it. He wanted me to carry out his plan in taking you away from your home. He requested for me to take care of the two of you, hide you in the dark to protect you from Mundus until you were ready to face him, but on the day your mother was murdered and your father was taken to eternal punishment, it was only Vergil that I found. He was unconscious. His memories have already been removed. I tried to look for you, but you were nowhere to be seen. I took Vergil to my refuge first and came out again to search for you, but I never saw you again, Dante. That was when I heard about you, ten years later. You were that angry teenager breaking the rules and always got himself into trouble for fighting against the cops. I wanted to come for you, but it was difficult, with all the demons who were in the power of the authorities. I had been training Vergil for the past years then. He was protected, and so were you. Your protection lay in that amulet that will be broken when your power awakens," he pointed to the shining ruby bound on Dante's neck. Dante's fingers went up to it. "I had been clearly instructed by Sparda. Your memories will be removed, to avoid attention from the demons lurking everywhere. However, I will still train you, introduce you to the supernatural; the existence of angels and demons.

"When Vergil reached the appropriate age, I told him all about the truth, his power, what he could do, his weapon given to him by his father, and of course, about you. That was when he sought to look for you. Vergil suddenly had this wish of leaving. We never met again, but as Raia may have told you, we've been monitoring him. I wanted to make sure he was safe and was doing all right. He was pushing us away, however. He . . . kind of took it the hard way when I did not tell him anything. He was downright frustrated and immediately thought about you and wondered if you were still alive, so he left."

"It was Dad's intention to separate us. He hid me in St. Lamia's Orphanage," Dante said. "He was eventually found by Mundus. He turned himself in."

Andrew rubbed his forehead. "So I have heard."

"You didn't answer my other question. Where have you guys been when Mundus attacked?"

The old man's gaze fell on his table. His fingers crossed. His contracted eyebrows contracted even more.

"Our headquarters were ambushed the night before that. Mundus thought Sparda and Eva were with us. Only a few of us survived. My wife died there too. Charlie was sixteen and Arwin was eight. Half of the survivors died a few months later and the other half either quit or died last year before and after Mundus was defeated." Andrew looked hard at Dante this time. "We came for you that day. We were too late. I realized that your father's plan had to be put into operation, or else, everything was lost."

Dante stared. His head was aching; it was difficult for him to relive the fate of his parents. Most especially now that he has received a longer version of it, the untold details Vergil left out finally revealed. He bit his lip, straining himself for showing any feeling at all. Despite knowing what happened next, it still hurt him.

Their family was destined to be broken forever.

And Vergil . . .

"You guys have ideas what my brother could be doing right now?"

"We've been making guesses, although we cannot make them final. We don't even know why you two are opposing each other. We've had no news at all about you since the demon outbreak."

Dante leaned on the table and spread his palms there. He had not realized his nails were scratching the surface.

"Vergil wants to rule the world. When we got rid of Mundus, he told us. He and I should rule the humans, he said. Humans are too weak to be on their own. He forgot Kat helped us every step of the way. He only used her."

Andrew frowned. "Rule the world . . . ?"

"Yes."

"I . . . but that is . . . I didn't even know that he'd want to be . . ."

"Well, me too. He's a perfectionist, hates mistakes. But being the next King of Demons"—he cringed at his own words—"I got no idea too. Though when we fought, I could just see it. He meant everything he said. And if I didn't want to go with him, I might as well get out of the way because he'll get rid of me. He had to be stopped."

Andrew massaged his forehead.

"I did not help Vergil grow up to be like this. I don't— What could have driven him? Revenge—that is not enough reason." He put his hands back on the table. He closed his eyes, as if realizing something and it was hurting him terribly.

Dante studied him.

"I don't understand why he wants to do that," he said. "Sure, humans can be weak, but they can stand up on their own. We all get weak. Why would he want to rule you? What made him do that?"

Andrew turned back to him. It took him a couple seconds before he said,

"I don't know. I get that he has always wanted to be on top. But to take over Mundus's throne . . . that is one thing I can never accept, and I will never forgive myself for that. I was responsible for caring for him. To lead him to where he is today . . ."

"You said you've been making guesses about him. What are those?"

Noise broke out in the corridor outside before Andrew could speak. A male's voice was snarling while a woman was trying to keep him quiet. Dante and Andrew got to their feet as two people stormed in the office.

The first was a boy. He had snowy-white hair that needed lots of combing. He wore a dark denim jacket with a maroon hoodie underneath it. His blue eyes flared with anger. Dante spotted his gloved hands as they balled up.

 _Must be Nero_ , he thought.

"So you're that guy? You're the twin of that asshole?"

"I—what?"

"Nero, stop!" A woman barged in and tried to pull him away, although Nero shrugged her off. She had a skin the color of chocolate and her wavy dark red hair slid down her back, spreading on her plum sweatshirt. She must have been hiding her right eye with her thick hair, for when it flew back as she ran after Nero, Dante saw that the eye was shut tight with a long scar.

"Lucia, what is this?" Andrew asked.

"We had a chat with Dave and the new girl Kat," Lucia said, still gripping Nero by his shirt. Dante noted her heavy European accent as she continued, "They said that Sparda's son is here."

Andrew sighed deeply.

"Nero. I told you he has nothing to do with this. You told us it was only Vergil."

"I told you I wasn't that sure, I was almost dying back then! What if this guy's a co-conspirator?" Nero hissed angrily.

"What did my brother do?" Dante said, approaching him. The boy glowered at him and he could have sworn his eyes flashed purple.

"He did this to me!" Nero yelled at his face, taking off his gloves and throwing them on the floor. Dante immediately retreated and stared, shocked.

Nero's right hand was charcoal black, the left normal. When he rolled up his right sleeve, the burned color ended with intricate runes inches from his elbow. The runes had certain patterns, as if they were forming a message.

"What is that—?"

"Your brother infected me." Nero said. "In a few months from now, I'm going to turn into a demon."


	5. 04 - Waiting In the Dark

FOUR

 **Waiting In The Dark**

 **Dante glared at him.**

"What do you mean, infected you? Is that even possible? And how the hell could Vergil do that?"

Nero scoffed. "Oh, I don't know. You tell me. You guys are demons, aren't you?"

"I'm half-demon. I just got angel blood in me too."

"Your brother didn't seem to have one."

"Will you please stop this, the two of you?" Andrew raised his voice. "Nero, for heaven's sake, I am trying to give Dante all the info we have here. Until we get the pieces together, we won't be able to do anything. Get back to your room. _Now._ "

The boy threw a dirty look at Dante. He turned away from them all, picking up his gloves and darting out of the office.

"Lucia, please make sure Nelly is in bed. The poor girl's having trouble sleeping as we all do. Once you're done, get the others in the bunker. I wouldn't want Nero to eavesdrop again. This is getting too much for him."

"Understood," Lucia said, walking away from the room.

Andrew put his hand on Dante's shoulder. "I know you're buzzing again with questions. We're going to have to start with that phone call Vergil left us, then I will tell you what happened to Nero."

Dante wanted to fire him away with his concerns, but he thought it best to get them all out later. He simply nodded and exited the office as well, heading back down to the living room where he saw Kat, to his astonishment, seated together with Dave and were having a conversation.

" . . . and I found them a few weeks later. Dad was friends with Andrew, he just didn't want to be part of any group. But he told me that if anything went haywire, I was to look for them and stay. Well, since both my parents are gone, I had no choice. I was ten." Dave leaned back on the couch and looked at the fireplace.

"I'm sorry," Kat mumbled.

Dave smiled at her.

"It's okay. These people took great care of me."

"Hey," Dante called. The two turned to him and rose.

"I wanted to apologize," he told Dave. "I didn't mean to disrespect you guys."

Dave dismissed him with a wave. "You don't have to. It's all right. I understand."

"What's up? What did that kid do?" Kat said, moving toward him.

"Accused me of shit," Dante said. "Andrew's gonna call up a meeting. Says we do the talk in the bunker."

"Nero has been spying on us nonstop since he woke up," Dave interjected. "He has no idea what's going on. He just knows he's been attacked and infected, and all this stuff about demons. I don't know what made Andrew say yes, but I'm not comfortable training the kid. He doesn't know what we're dealing with."

"Infected?" Kat echoed.

"Infected by Vergil," Dante added disdainfully.

 _"_ _What?"_

"What he said."

"How?" Kat asked. "Are you sure it was him? Did he tell you the whole story?"

"Dave, hand me the poker," Charlie called from across the room as he trotted toward them. Dave's face relaxed, looking relieved from answering. He went to the side of the fireplace and took the poker, handing it to Charlie who stirred and disturbed the coals, the already feeble light of the room slowly dying.

"Shouldn't be so hot now," he said, taking the poker back to the side of the mantelpiece and reeling to the row of deer heads. He raised his hand to the one nearest the fireplace, his fingers touching its nose. He pressed on it, and a loud, stony _creek_ reverberated through the cabin as the fireplace shuffled backwards then skidded to a halt, the light flickering and fading.

Dante whistled. "Cool."

Lucia, Raia and Andrew appeared at the foot of the stairs, Andrew walking forward for the fireplace. He bent over and something gave a loud thud. Straightening up, he climbed down and vanished. The others followed suit, leaving Dante and Kat gaping.

Raia's head shot up the dark hole, hissing, "Don't look so amazed. You'll get the hang of it. Get in, will you? And don't forget to pull the chain on the side of the stairs. We don't want Nero sniffing on us." She went back in, and Dante could hear her murmur inaudibly.

The two exchanged glances. Kat grimaced and motioned for him to go first.

"Here goes," he said to himself, sauntering off and climbing down the staircase. His feet hit the cold stone floor, the pathway ahead leading to an open door where strong light poured from inside. He heard Kat pull at a chain to the left of the stairs. The fireplace above them pushed forward, trapping them below.

Dante pushed on with Kat behind him, entering the meeting room.

The underground was enormous. Steel walls enclosed the large space, either side of them lined with three doors each. Far off the bunker was a vault which Dante assumed was the armory. At the very center of the room was a long table facing another large LED screen that showed a picture of a young man presumably around his twenties, his black hair messy and his green eyes piercing. Beside the photo was his file. Dante read the name.

Arwin Dunn.

"Play the record," Andrew said from the head of the table. Raia, who was seated at the upper left, tapped her fingers on the laptop laid out in front of her. Static buzzed from the speaker beside it, then Andrew was heard.

 _"_ _Hello? Arwin?"_

 _"_ _Andrew,"_ another male voice gasped. _"I'm here—I-I've found him—God, I'm not even sure if it's him, he's trying to kill me—"_

 _"_ _What? A_ _rwin—calm down—are you sure it's him—? We have to come for you, it's too dangerous—"_

 _"_ _I don't know! No! Don't come here! Don't—"_

 _"_ _I can take Raia with me, just tell me what exactly is—"_

 _"_ _Fuck that, don't take her with you!"_

 _"_ _Arwin—"_

 _"_ _No, listen to me! If it's really him, he's not the same anymore! Andrew, for fuck's sake, don't come here!"_

There was a beep. Static once again buzzed and this time, Arwin sounded downright terrified and was crying.

 _"_ _Raia. Hey. I-I know this is weird for you since we're through, but— Forget it, I'm almost done here anyway,"_ he was saying.

 _"_ _Oh. Hey."_ It was Raia's voice. Dante eyed the girl and saw her shaking. _"What's up? That was kinda quick, you coming back now?"_

 _"_ _No, I . . . I don't think so. I . . . "_

 _"_ _Hey, are you okay? You sound terrible."_

 _"_ _I'm not coming back. I can't come back."_

 _"_ _Arwin—what do you mean? Why aren't you coming—?"_

Arwin took a long, deep breath. _"I love you. I'm sorry, and I love you."_

 _"_ _What? What are you saying? Arwin—I—"_

There was a loud bang from the record and a shuffle of footsteps. Andrew was yelling.

 _"_ _Raia—Arwin's being ambushed—we have to come and get him, it could be Vergil attacking him—"_

 _"_ _Oh my God—no—Arwin! Arwin, come back here, don't hang up on me! Please! Oh God, please—"_ The girl was sobbing. _"Arwin, no—I'm sorry, please don't leave me like this, don't die on me, please, I love you—"_

There was a long silence as Raia whimpered from the call. Dante watched as the real one covered her face, quivering badly. Dave had approached her and laid his hand on her shoulder, his expression somber. The rest of the Enlightenment stared at the floor as if they were all bidden to memorize it.

Then he spoke. Hollow, haunting and threatening.

Vergil had taken up Arwin's phone.

 _"_ _I am sorry for your loss."_ Dante's eyes widened. His heart skipped a beat. Next to him, Kat had absentmindedly taken hold of the sleeve of his coat, her hands wincing. _"But this is all your fault. If you'd only stuck with me, all this would have not come to a more violent end. You always like to think about yourself, how important you are, don't you? Huh. I'll be here to stop that. Don't even think that, with this death, I am done."_

Vergil was chuckling. _"I'm just getting started, brother."_

Another beep. The call had ended. Every single one of them neither spoke nor moved.

Dante felt the same sickening feeling as his insides churned. He goggled at the screen, scrutinizing Arwin's young and hopeful face. That poor young man . . . dead. Murdered. By none other than his one and only brother. Dragged into a mess he shouldn't have involved himself in. Got himself into a senseless fight of control and power. Arwin got killed just because Vergil was luring Dante out.

What was happening to his twin? Where was he right now?

Did he even recover from his injuries? Is he back to his dominative self; collusive, manipulative, hungry for revenge?

Has he truly established himself as the new King of Demons?

"No," he whispered. The others, except Raia, turned to him and stared. "I-I can't. . . . He can't be doing this. That has to be someone else." He shook his head slowly. He glowered down on the floor, still mumbling. "Shit. Holy shit. This just can't be . . ."

"How do you explain Nero's infection then?" Dave said, pulling away from Raia and sitting on the table, resting his feet on the chair next to her. "When he woke up and was taken to Andrew's office, he accidentally saw our group photo from years ago where we still have Vergil with us. Nero recognized him. He said it was him, he can't be mistaken. He was normal when he first saw him, but all hell broke loose and suddenly, he was the devil. The kid's young, scared, unaware of the truth, but he's not lying."

" _Why is he doing this?_ " Dante growled at him. "It can't just be because he was fucking luring me out! I wasn't aware of you guys before all this! How does he expect me to think you're luring me out if I didn't even know that a bunch of you existed? And what on earth does Nero have to do with all of this?"

"We had a guess that Vergil was trying to locate us," Andrew declared. "The place where Nero came from is a two-hour walk from here. We believe he knows where the safe house _could_ be, but fails in finding it. So he found the orphanage instead. Nero had no idea what your twin was doing there. Everyone were killed except him, Nelly, his best friend, and the owner of the orphanage."

Dante raised an eyebrow. "Where's the friend and the owner?"

"That's the thing," Charlie broke in. "They're missin'. Nero was left to die due to the infection, but miraculously, he survived. He forced himself to find a place for him and Nelly to hide first while he tried to recover, and God's pro'lly enjoyin' the joke 'cause they found this cabin. People aren't meant to find this. We have no clue at all how the hell they spotted this place."

"And Nero has no idea where his groupies are?" Dante asked.

"Yeah. He passed out even before witnessin' what happened next. All he could remember was that he tried to defend his friend. Vergil had been right there in front of him and was ready to kill him, although Nero blocked the attack, hittin' his arm in turn. When we saw him, already in coma, the skin on his arm was totally gone. Months later though, it was replaced by those black runes."

"The poison adapted to his body," Kat said briskly. "Infections should kill you within five hours. The poison did not reject him. He's going to turn."

"Now we're assuming that the owner of the orphanage is currently with Vergil," Lucia said. "We have no proof of course, but there is no plausible explanation with regards of their whereabouts. And other than that, there were signs of demon presence even before Vergil stepped foot there."

"When did Nero say they got attacked?" Dante asked again.

"The day the demons disappeared." Dave said. "It seems like the outbreak didn't affect them. They were also warded. Anyone can find the orphanage but demons won't, ever, even from Limbo."

"You're sure of this how?"

"I checked the wards," Lucia answered for him. "They were made by a demon. But a few of them weren't, though. It's like someone else added to the wards. All of them were mostly about protection and invisibility from dark forces. It's still a mystery to us how Vergil found the orphanage, because if it was him who infected Nero, then he must have turned into something else."

"Wait a second," Dante said, moving away from the door and heading to the table, "are you telling me that this owner of the orphanage is a demon who actually warded the place from his fellow _demons_ and went away with Vergil the minute he saw him?"

Lucia frowned. "Yes."

"Why the fuck would he do that?"

"That is another one of our guesses," Andrew said. "Maybe Vergil was not looking for us. Maybe this man called your brother to him. He could be someone who was against Mundus's aims and thought Vergil was a better replacement. Just like Phineas, the demon imprisoned by one of Mundus's trusted men, Bob Barbas. He could've known the punishment he might get had he openly tried to rebel against his king, so he remained hidden. After sensing Mundus's death, however, he knew that there must be someone new taking the throne. He investigates it, sending word to those he trust to tell him who might be the boss now. He removes a few of the wards to let the new guy in."

"Tell me why he would be so thick into thinking the king would actually go for him," Dante said. "He's gotta have something to make Vergil get to him. If he's the boss, this orphanage guy should be the one approaching him."

"Yes, that is where we got stuck. And the only one we think Vergil might be interested in is Nero's best friend, Kyrie."

Andrew must have seen the ridiculous expression Dante wore for he said defensively, "I know what you're thinking. Yes, we don't know who this girl really is, but only the owner, George Sanctus, and Kyrie are missing. The total orphanage population counts thirty people including Sanctus himself and his assistants. From our own investigation and the authorities', there were exactly twenty-six people who have died. All these corpses have been recovered. They never got to know what happened to the missing ones. We have two of them; the others might have gone over to the new king.

"And if Sanctus is indeed a demon and has offered Kyrie to Vergil, then this girl has something Vergil wants, which unfortunately, we have no idea what is. We would've checked all the orphans' files if they hadn't burned. The orphanage was reduced to debris and ashes when we got there. And that is exactly the reason why we haven't contacted you until . . . until the events from Paradise happened. We thought you guys were okay. We thought you still have your twin brother with you. But Nero woke up and told us that Vergil infected him. We had to make sure he was being accurate about this, and besides, we were still unaware of your location even though we had been trying to find you. We thought you went back to the Paradise Manor recently. But with Arwin's death—"

"Dying people don't lie." Raia said hoarsely from her seat. All of them turned to her as she wiped her makeup-smudged face. "I don't care if Arwin wasn't sure. When I heard your brother's voice, I knew. I've monitored him too. I know how he talks. I know he can be sophisticated. I gotta tell you that I find Vergil to be very charismatic. And that is what I sensed in that call. I know it's him. So don't ever make me face him. I will kill him."

Dante looked at her. Her eyes were narrowed to slits at him. Her small fists were balled up and were still shaking. His heart beat so fast he wanted to sit and rest, but he kept looking at her and he never saw someone so sad, broken, and anguished.

"You don't have to," he managed to say. "It has to be me."

Raia lowered her head. She did not say any more.

"So Arwin went alone to our house," Dante said as if the girl never spoke. "I was told he took Vergil's attack personally. And he could have sensed the danger that was coming. Then _bam_ , Vergil showed up and left that damned phone call." He pulled up a chair and sat beside Lucia. "If he's luring me out, he has to lure you guys out too. Arwin didn't leave alive. My brother made it clear that he wants to show us something."

"Someone left a message on the grounds of the orphanage," Andrew said. _"'All of you will pay.'_ It was written in blood."

"Is there any other reason why Vergil would want you to go into the spotlight as well?" Kat said. "He's not the type to just rage out for nothing. You could've done something."

"Sadly for us, we don't know what we did except spy on him," Dave said. "That shouldn't be too big a deal. I know we're invading his space, but knowing him, that can't be the reason."

"You have a point," Kat said. "But he's involving everyone. That has to account for something. First, the orphanage. He wants everyone to pay for whatever it is you did. Second, Paradise. He wants Dante to regret what he's done to Vergil. He wanted to rule mankind with him but the other found the idea appalling. He hates it when someone disagrees with him."

"I hate to ask this but," Dante veered his eyes away from Raia as she swept her hair back from her forehead, "I know you guys want to retrieve Arwin. But what else can it do?"

He knew it then. The girl glared at him soon as he stated his question.

"So that we'll know what we're dealing with," she hissed. "It sounds nonsensical. I don't care. We have to see. We have to get him back."

Andrew unfolded his arms and rested his hands on the table. Dave glanced at the screen which still featured Arwin Dunn's photo. Charlie gave Lucia a knowing look which she reciprocated with an awkward shrug. Kat twiddled her own fingers.

Only Dante replied. "What's the plan?"

* * *

Dave's old Toyota Yaris parked in front of the gates of Paradise. Dante, Raia, Dave and Lucia climbed out of the car and stared at the ruined old mansion as one. Without saying anything, Dante went ahead, a heavy weight pulling at his chest as his eyes roamed the devastated structure.

"You guys check the perimeter," he called to his companions. "I'm going in."

"What if someone was inside waiting for you?" Lucia said, pulling at her crossbow and bolts which were slung over shoulder. Over her plum sweatshirt was a bomber jacket.

"I can handle myself."

"I'm coming with you," Raia said as Dante marched on. He pushed the double doors open, remembering all too well the entryway as he stepped in. Thick clouds of dust puffed as his feet moved ahead. He paused in the middle of the corridor. He was observing the floor.

Footsteps were imprinted on the gnawed carpet. He followed the tracks which led to forked paths in the main hall. Obviously someone had been running around the place. Dante figured it could have been Arwin's footsteps as he ran from what, or whoever, it was he was running from.

Raia was examining the tracks on the left side of the hall. She was standing on another entryway which Dante could remember was the way to the dining area. He walked toward her and watched her as she leaned on the door-frame looking exhausted. She was back to wearing her dirty-white buttoned shirt, the belt around it full of throwing knives. Her hair was tied to the side again.

"Why'd you leave Kat in the cabin?" she asked quietly.

"I was supposed to bring her along but she wasn't answering from her room. Guess she enjoyed the rest. Could've knocked herself up and slept it away."

"I hadn't really slept too. I haven't rested in days," Raia said, chuckling humorlessly. "That's the problem, though. It's like my nightmares wouldn't let me rest or something."

Dante slipped his hands in his jeans pockets and also leaned against the frame across her. They stared at each other.

"You didn't have to come, you know," he said. Raia raised her hand to the back of her neck and massaged it.

"I have to. It feels like I won't be able to really move on if I don't find him." She looked down on her feet. "I keep dreaming about him, you know? He's always saying sorry. He keeps apologizing in my dreams even though the breakup had been my fault."

"You wanna talk about it?"

Raia laughed again. Dante figured she was too much bothered to truly express what she felt.

"Hell, no. Dave's one of the closest friends I've had so far but he doesn't even know why Arwin and I broke up."

"Huh. Can't force you to tell me. It's only been a day since you met me," Dante agreed.

Raia glanced at him.

"Why is it that when we've monitored you, you kinda acted like a jerk?" she said, her tone lightening up a bit. "Now you sound so different from that rough and cop-hating guy."

Dante couldn't help it; he laughed too.

"Jeez, Hwang. I'm nineteen. It's time I grew up a teensy lil' bit."

Raia beamed. "Oh, wow. That's quite the wisdom, old man."

Dante was still chuckling. "Shut up." He strode away and went back to surveying the main hall.

"Why, though?"

He turned back to her. Her smile was gone again.

"Vergil's your only family now. Why did you oppose him?"

Dante was caught off-guard at this. He pulled his hands from his pockets and put them on his hips, thinking.

"Vergil grew up with you guys." Recalling what Raia told him a night ago, he corrected himself: "Before you joined three years ago, he's been with Andrew. The man seems nice and probably took great care of him. He never had to face the reality on the streets. I grew up a street rat. I saw how people were really like out there. There were the sufferers, the oppressors, the morons, the fuck-ups. I was one of the fuck-ups. I see how those who don't live on streets treat people inferior to them. Then I heard about Mundus and saw how big an evil piece of shit he was, how he treats people lower than him. No one deserves to be treated that way. They deserve some freedom, some will to choose for themselves. They don't need someone to tell them what the fuck they should do. Vergil wants to do the same. And I can't let him into that."

Raia's eyes twinkled. She bit her lip, seeming to fight back another smile.

"You could be my grandpa," she teased.

Dave and Lucia had entered the hall before Dante could retort. The two went up to them as Lucia spoke.

"The perimeter's clear. There were signs of disturbances though, and it wasn't just Arwin who'd been here. There seems to be a lot of presence here, I can sense a lot of power in this place. Like a horde of demons have been here."

Dante frowned. "Wait a minute, how is that possible?"

"I'm not sure. It's like they were here but were never here. It feels like a ton of dimensions collided and landed in this mansion."

"Dimensions?" Raia broke in. "If you're talking about Limbo—"

"I know." Lucia snapped. "Limbo's destroyed. But there is more to it than that, I just can't pinpoint what it is—we have to see. You guys stand over there," she pointed to the grand staircase at center of the hall. "I'll check whatever is going on."

The other three did as they were told. Lucia moved feet from the staircase and knelt on one knee, taking something from the belt bag behind her. She pulled out a chalk and a knife, setting the latter down beside her and using the chalk to draw a small circle on the floor. She put it back in the bag and picked up the knife, cutting her palm.

"What is she doing?" Dante said.

"Checking," Dave answered casually. "It's what her clan used to do. She was part of another group before us, and they have these weird traditions and rituals we've never even heard of."

Lucia clenched her bleeding hand, letting her blood drip within the circle. When there was enough blood, she pulled out a handkerchief from her pocket and tied it over the wound, now mumbling to herself. Dante listened carefully and realized she was speaking in another language.

Then something else happened.

The blood dissolved into smoke. It rose, swirling, slowly at first, now quickly. Lucia still muttered, this time furiously. She was backing a few steps away as the smoke rose even higher—then spread all over the place. It vanished all of a sudden. Lucia glowered up at her companions.

"Uh, what did that do exactly?" Dante asked.

"There are demons here. They're all over the place," she said breathlessly, taking up the crossbow from over her shoulder and starting to fit a bolt into it. "We have to split into pairs, cover more ground. If anything happens, shout. All we have to do now is find Arwin; if we don't, I'm sorry Raia, but our safety matters too. Should you encounter dozens of demons, run for it. We don't have to fight them all day. Dave and I are going to take the left; Dante and Raia, check out the right side. Be careful."

Dave and Lucia went ahead, leaving the two gazing after them.

"Damn it," Raia hissed to herself. "Nothing goes easy for us."

"We have to move," Dante told her. "I don't like this." He pulled out Ebony and Ivory while Raia readied her daggers. They jogged further up the stairs and turned a corner, Dante aware of all the dust he was inhaling as he drew breath. He led Raia to the drawing room, stopping and looking around carefully.

It was still pretty much the same as Dante had left it a year ago. Bookshelves were dilapidated, drawers were upturned, the couches were sinking, and broken glass from the chandelier littered the floor. More footsteps were imprinted here. Some were steady and some were fickle. Dante followed the fickle tracks which ended behind a moldy old couch.

"Hey," he called over to Raia who approached.

There was a spatter of blood on the floor beside a bloodied dagger, a locket and a phone. Looking at the couch, Dante saw there were also a few red splatters on it.

"Those are his stuff," Raia murmured, her voice straining. She bent over to pick up the locket and opened it, revealing a photo of hers on one side, and Arwin's on the other. She swallowed.

"Arwin died here," Dante muttered. He glanced around. The same ruined room stared back at him.

"Where is he . . . ?" he whispered to himself, pacing the room. "He could've been left anywhere."

"Dante," Raia called, walking up to him with Arwin's phone in her hands. "I've just checked it. It has one message in it."

"What does it say?"

"Wait a sec." Raia opened the inbox folder and clicked on the text. She stared. She shoved the phone at Dante's face who took a step back and looked.

 _FOUND YOU._

"What on earth—?"

As if on cue, hollow voices screamed. The ground quaked violently; Dante and Raia helplessly fell on the ground as the increasing hysterical cries rang all around them, all thundering out the same phrases.

"STOP THEM!"

"DANTEEEEEEE . . . "

"KILL HIM!"

The drawing room's floor cracked. It parted as a large fault would, dividing itself, leaving a huge gap as the other side shook away from them. The roof wrenched itself away from the mansion, revealing the bright blue sky—

"Fuck—" Dante was grunting.

The ground kept on quaking as it stretched yards away from the two with a loud, grinding noise. The walls, windows and the door where they came from was suddenly covered in grime. The broken glass from the chandelier levitated, quivering and swishing wildly. The couches, bookshelves and drawers distorted, shrinking—

Then it stopped as quickly as it had come. The floor was once again still. The screaming voices vanished and the only noises Dante could hear now was his own breathing and his rallying heart as it beat against his rib cage.

He stood up shakily. He helped a stunned Raia stand as she looked around her, shocked.

"H-Have we just been . . . ," Raia tried to say, although she gulped.

"Yeah," Dante breathed. "We've just been dragged into Limbo."


	6. 05 - Bloodthirsty

FIVE

 **Bloodthirsty**

 **Dave paced round the drawing room,** his hands gripping his hair. He paused for a few seconds behind Lucia then began circling again.

"Holy shit," he was muttering breathlessly. "Holy shit. That can't be it, this is seriously not fucking happening. Holy _shit_."

"Dave, shut up," Lucia hissed, examining Arwin's bloodstained phone. She opened the back cover and turned it over. A circular rune with tiny intricate designs was drawn in blood.

" _Zut_ ," she swore passionately in French. "This is warded. They've certainly been dragged into Limbo." She continued to examine the rune, tracing the dried blood with her finger. "I've never seen this one before. They seem to be a lot of symbols merged into one, serving as a medium to get you in that dimension. This could've been made by a demon." She noted sharp edges inside the circle. "Look at them. They're rather demonic."

"I'm sorry, Lucy, but I totally suck at demonology. How can you be so sure 'bout this?"

"Not really, to be honest. Although . . . there are sigils, like those in folklore, that have those pointed ends and directions that are used for demons. They could be used against them or it could be used for their benefit. They are similar to those we've studied. This one is a bit like that . . . and yet . . . ," she glanced up to Dave. "It's still different. It seems ancient. But I could be wrong."

"Let's say you're right," Dave snapped. "How did this freaking happen? Limbo's destroyed. How could that be restored? Who would be able to do that?"

"Whoever is messing with us, Dave. Should be." Lucia pocketed the cover of the phone and surveyed the room. The dark presence here was alarmingly high, like thousands of demons have gathered in the place and formed an abominable yet invisible chaos. The humid air felt even more dangerous than what was already polluting the ruined old mansion. Someone knew that anyone, most especially Raia, would risk invading Paradise in order to get Arwin's corpse. And whoever that was that played this sick joke on them, obviously they have the upper hand and was probably the one responsible for reviving Limbo. But the question was . . .

How was it done? Sparda's twins have defeated Mundus and the only way to do that was close the Hell Gate, thereby destroying it altogether. Whoever brought it back to life had to be extremely powerful.

And what if it was Vergil?

He could be unbeatable. Not only because he was strong. He was part of The Enlightenment and to them, he had been family.

And you can't kill your own family.

"Fuck it," Dave grunted. He exhaled a couple times and said, "Okay. What are we going to do?"

Lucia pursed her lips, frowning.

"Those two could already be fighting a horde for all we know," she said. "I will have to try and open a gateway. I don't think I could phase into Limbo without getting in danger, and I cannot risk that. We're not sure if I could contact the two through that. Raia should sense if a gateway is open. Come on." They stepped out of the drawing room, Dave prepping up his shotgun and Lucia readying her crossbow.

* * *

Raia whipped around Dante, the panic rising within her. The other just glared all over the room and seemed to be looking for any sign of a demon, a hand grasping for the Rebellion's hilt which flashed in a sparkle of red and gold.

"We have to get out of here," the girl found herself mumbling. "We're screwed. It's my fault. I've dragged you into this."

Dante glanced at her, rather surprised.

"What?"

"This! I dragged you in this mess! I know Arwin's gone and it was impossible to find his remains—"

"Whoa, stop right there, Hwang," Dante snapped, approaching her. "I'm not blaming you for that. If it was me, I would have done the same; it doesn't matter. We're all stuck in this shithole. This would've happened sooner or later, anyway."

"Yeah? How do you know? And this— Limbo! It's supposed to be destroyed, now look at this—"

"Hey," Dante put his hands on her shoulders and gripped them tight. "Stop. Just stop, okay? This? This is not your fault, Hwang. And you're right. We're here to know what we're dealing with. We're not just here to look for Arwin. Now we have an idea what kind of hell we're facing."

Raia stared at his stern eyes, felt for the strong grip on her shoulders, the intensity of his crystalline gaze. He wasn't lying, and he was not definitely blaming her. She wished it made her feel better, but it did not. Nothing stopped her from wanting to skin herself alive.

"What if don't get out of here, then?" she said. "We're not even really sure what's going on."

Dante withdrew his hands, still looking seriously at her.

"We'll find a way out of here. We can't be trapped here forever. And Lucia could be trying to find a way to get us out, y'know. She has to."

"If she sensed what happened."

"'Course she did. She's a psychic, right?"

Raia took a deep breath. "Let's hope she does. I don't like where this seems to be going. It's like there will be a lot of demons here to fight. And . . . ," her chest heaved, "we won't ever be able to find him." She rubbed her forehead. It took her a lot of restraint from forcing back her tears. She didn't want to cry in front of anyone. But hearing the phone call back in the cabin became too much for her to bear.

She hated the fact that the group just saw her cry, along with those two new strangers.

And the other one with her right now seemed to be ready to offer a box of tissues to her.

Something took a hold of her arm. She had not realized that Dante just pulled at her wrist.

"Look, Hwang. We'll find him. He's what we came for. We get Arwin, we get out of here, and we deal with that damned barrier back at the city."

Raia glowered at him. "You're making it sound easy, demon boy."

Dante shrugged. "It's what I've always been good at. Making it easy." When the girl raised an eyebrow, he quickly added, "But I didn't say that's all I'm going to do. I'll help you. Okay?"

Raia looked at him. She was about to back away from him when he suddenly tugged at her wrist again, and it was rather strong.

"Hey, that hurt—"

"Demons." Dante pointed behind her.

And they were there, dozens of them, rising from the floor of the drawing room. All of them groaned menacingly. Voices echoed all over them, chanting the same thing.

 _"_ _Kill him."_

"This isn't good. We can't stay and fight them," Raia said, her fingers tracing the hilt of her weapons.

Without another word, Dante dragged her along with him and halted by the edge of the divided room, the other side hovering feet from them. He reached for his back and pulled out the Ophion. It glowed a bright blue. Raia gasped out as his left arm circled her waist, clinging her to him. He threw Ophion out, the snake's head snapping to the chains of the chandelier which were still hanging from the ceiling. They flew up, swinging away from the demons as they marched toward them, the quicker ones unfortunately falling over the edge.

The two landed rather clumsily on the floor as more demons erupted from the ground and dashed to their direction. Dante hurriedly jumped to his feet and fired at the front-liners. Raia threw out a few knives at the ones nearest her.

"Go for the door!" Dante shouted at her.

She glanced at another door heading out of the room. She cursed to herself as grime spread and covered it as she tried to approach.

"We're going to have to get rid of them!" she shouted back to Dante who ran the Rebellion through a Stygian demon. He yelled, kicking at another one's face to the ground and stomping at it until it vanished.

"Then we get rid of them!"

"Darn it," Raia muttered angrily. She swerved sideways, avoiding a bolt from a Pathos demon. It swooped down at her although she quickly tumbled, her right foot hitting the demon. A blade slid out of her boot, slicing the Pathos's face. It exploded into smoke.

Raia felt her toes tug in her boot; the blade slid back inside it.

A cluster of Stygians advanced toward her, forming a circle around her. They all raised their razor blades in unison; Raia ducked down and slid her feet under them, making them all fall down on the floor—she started on the one to her left, crushing its arm with her boot, causing the razor blade attached to it to part from its owner. With a screech, the Stygian disappeared while Raia picked up the blade and span, slicing all the demons around her in half, the weapon she used vanishing with them.

She turned to a Bathos flying toward her. It was similar to the Pathos, although it had horns and its hands were glowing; it threw out a fireball on the floor, landing inches by her feet. She rolled away as more Stygians staggered after her, but it was too late—the fireball exploded and all of them got caught. Raia threw out a knife at the Bathos, the blade hitting home.

The girl wiped a hand on her forehead, the sweat stinging her eyes. In the corner of her vision she saw Dante shoot at the last opponent on their side.

The ground shook again. From the other half of the room where they just left grew out a bridge which latched itself on their side. The demons still waiting for them crossed the bridge, their weapons raised and their voices ringing in Raia's ears.

"Here, fucker," Dante said impatiently. He swung Rebellion at the Ravager demon running to him, its chainsaw missing him by inches. He dodged, span, then beheaded the demon.

Raia knelt and waited for the Rage demon rushing toward her. Soon as it was close enough, she jumped, spinning on mid-air, landing on the demon's head, her boot hitting its face. There was a sickening crunch and a wail. The demon was gone.

The room shuddered. In the center of the fight, the floor crumbled and from there, a Witch demon rose, her beautiful face haunting, her pure black eyes wide as she screamed: a hollow, wailing sound. Rocks covered her naked body, and they span, threatening to shoot at them anytime.

"Oh, fuck no, not that bitch," Raia said.

Dante flung his huge scythe, the Osiris, at the group of demons compressing around him. All those hit vanished and the Pathos and Bathos demons went along with them. He lowered his weapon and it turned into twin cycling blades—the Aquila, Raia recalled—he ran to the Witch and started flinging them at her, destroying the transparent sphere around her.

The Witch raised her slim hands, groaning. Raia yelled in pain.

A jagged rock just erupted from behind her and her shoulder was caught.

"Goddammit," she hissed. She jerked away from the rock and pulled out her daggers, slashing here, stabbing there, slicing with her boot knife—she threw three more knives to the lesser Stygians running toward her. She approached the Witch demon and began attacking with her daggers, with Dante feet from her, still using the Aquila.

The Witch's hands were raised again—this time, a huge boulder floated above her head as the two kept on breaking her shield. Dante went back to using Osiris and ran it through the shield as more cracks appeared on it. The glass broke while the demon threw the boulder at him—he jumped away, hitting lesser demons instead.

The demon disappeared and turned up behind Raia. She span just in time and dodged as her shards grew out from her body in order to attack her, and when she missed, the shards shrank back inside her.

Dante summoned the Arbiter and slammed it on the floor—a fiery force rushed from it and hurtled towards the Witch—it left huge red-hot scorched marks on her pale skin. She screamed, her hands beckoning to him. A shard shot out from it; Dante reeled but the hem of his coat got hit, the edge torn out.

"Not my coat," he was snarling. He took out Ebony and Ivory and fired outrageously, dashing up to her. The Witch was about to form another shield when Raia jumped up and kicked at her—the Witch screeched loudly—Raia raised her daggers and stabbed them on her face while Dante slid Rebellion through her. With one last cry, the Witch vanished.

Both of them continued to get rid of the other demons. She avoided to throw more knives as much as possible and made sure to get rid of their enemies with close-range attacks; Dante, having finished with the ones around him, assisted her, flinging his sword here and there until only one lesser Stygian was left.

Raia doubled down and panted. With a wave of her hand, Dante moved and shot the Stygian's head.

The grime covering their door melted. The corridor ahead loomed darkly.

"There's a rift in the entryway, right?" Raia breathed heavily.

Dante walked to her side and laid a hand on her shoulder. She felt her cheeks flush.

"Yep," he said. "Whoa. Hwang, you're hurt."

Raia glanced over her right shoulder. The sleeve was torn and a deep cut was bleeding, though slowly.

She tugged at her sleeve to cover the wound.

"I'm fine. Don't mind me." She straightened up and brushed his hand off. "We'd better get our asses going. We still have Arwin to look for." She was about to make her way out of the room when she paused. "How do we get back to the entryway? Where we came from's still full of grime," she pointed to the entrance of the drawing room.

Dante snorted. "I'll be giving you a tour of the whole mansion, princess. We'll have to get on the other side." He went up to the gloomy corridor, voice echoing loudly. "You'll get to meet my parents."

* * *

"It's not working, isn't it?"

"Obviously." Lucia shut her eye and sighed. She stood up, her hands on her hips. "I don't know what I missed."

Dave moved away from the wall where he leaned and studied the circle. It was supposed to open as a gateway to Limbo, but for the last ten minutes that Lucia tried to make it work, nothing happened, even though they were standing at the right place. They were there in the entryway where Kat had told them where the rift was. He wondered why the circle was not lighting up. Lucia had always been so good at doing what she did.

"Is there anything I can do?" he asked.

Lucia merely frowned at her work. "None, I am afraid."

Dave scoffed. "Then what can _we_ do? They're surely partying with demons right now."

"I know, Dave. But the circle is not reacting. I do not think there's another way to make it work. They are going to have to fight their way out."

"And if they can't fight 'em out? We gotta help them. I won't be able to stand it if they can never get out of there—"

"Trust me, I will feel the same," Lucia cut him off. "But what else can we do? Suggestions are welcome."

Dave glowered at the circle. Lucia had drawn We it with her chalk. Inside it were four smaller circles drawn in her blood, all divided into four sections each. This symbol was not something he had ever encountered until Lucia came to them and offered to be their magical specialist. Her clan had traditions and rituals books have never written, and he wondered how on earth her people developed all these strange customs and put them to great use.

"Wait a second," he suddenly began. "Didn't you take Arwin's phone?"

Lucia stared. "No, only the back cover."

"And it's warded, right?"

"Yes. And like I have told you, I have never seen that rune before. They could actually be a lot of runes stacked together to direct you to Limbo without easily getting out."

"Don't you think we should use that ward or something? It's what dragged Dante and Hwang to Limbo."

Lucia bit her nails. "I don't know, Dave. It could be dangerous. That symbol could affect us, drag us into Limbo as well, or worse. We could die."

Dave examined the drawing on the floor one more time.

"Do you feel anything on that ward?"

"I feel _what_?"

"You know. When you're checking and shit, you sense a lot of stuff, and you sensed it when those two were pulled in another dimension. That ward on the phone giving you shivers or anything?"

"Nothing," Lucia answered, pulling out the phone cover from her pocket. "It's what scares me. It does not give off any sort of energy. If we play around with it, something wrong might happen."

"Can I see that?"

She handed him the cover. Dave turned it over and looked. He glanced up at Lucia.

"Lucy. We gotta try."

"I don't think we should."

"Lucia. Please."

"David. I don't know. What if this ward killed us? How else can we help the Nephilim boy and Raia?"

"Come on. You've got to. I feel bad that I can't be of much use right now, but you have to do this. Just try copying the ward. If something happens"—he spread his arms and made a sweeping gesture—"you can just make me disappear off the face of the earth. That a deal?"

Lucia shot him a look. Dave did not blink and kept his brows furrowed at her.

The young woman sighed.

"All right, already. If anything happens— _anything_ at all"—she pulled out a knife and pointed it to his chest—"I'll kill and shame you in front of Kat."

Dave turned a bright red. "Kat? What does Kat have to do with this?"

"Don't fool me, David Benson," Lucia hissed. "Hours staring at her ass tell me a lot."

Dave gaped at her.

Lucia shook her head and knelt before the circle again, still holding the phone cover. She took her chalk from the floor, dragging her knee-high boots on her drawing, completely erasing it, leaving powdery-white and dark-red smudges. She began copying the ward from the cover, carefully and artistically tracing with the chalk, the smaller details precise and perfect. Dave watched, curiosity piqued as Lucia finished. Both of them waited for seconds.

Nothing happened.

" _Merde!_ " Lucia swore. "It did not work. _Mais putain_."

"What the fuck are we going to do now?" Dave said. "We are so screwed."

" _Ça me fait chier_ ," Lucia was still cursing in French. "I am out of ideas. I can't use my blood anymore. I've been weakened with the checking earlier, I merely tried my luck just now."

"What if you used mine?"

Lucia stopped fuming and looked at Dave as if he was going crazy.

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"Didn't you hear me? I said use my blood."

Lucia snapped at him.

"No, Dave. No. We can't use yours. It does not have magical properties. It is not going to work."

"We can try—"

"Damn trying! No! I cannot risk that!"

"What if they used human blood on that phone? What if they used Arwin's blood—?"

"What?"

"If they used Arwin—"

Lucia put a hand on her chest, as if trying to gather how crazy Dave was. But then the twinkle in her eye changed and she seemed to focus.

"Lucy."

" _Quiet,_ " she hissed. "Wait." She went back to the ward and picked up the cover she discarded lying inches from it, scrutinizing the symbol. She glanced back to the one on the floor.

"Perhaps you're right," she muttered. "Demon blood weighs energy. Real dark energy. Humans have none. Maybe that is the reason why I cannot feel anything. They could have used Arwin's. But why . . . ?" She bent over, saying, "Look at those small circles forming a moon. Circles always mean you are to open something, and in our rituals, you can open them by dropping bits of blood in there. But we've only ever used ours." She faced Dave. "We have to drip yours in those."

Dave stretched out his arm. "Go on."

"I'm not going to ask questions now. Here," she steered him and made him kneel before the ward. She took up her knife and cut his palm, letting drops fall on each of the five circles. She produced a clean cloth from her belt bag and wrapped it on Dave's shaking hand.

It was only a matter of seconds before the ward glowed brightly. A low hum was echoing from it.

"Wow," Dave said. He beckoned at it. "It worked. I told you, Lucy!"

Lucia smiled at him, but it faded as quickly as it had come. She stood up and screamed—an invisible force seemed to seize her as she was flown back to the wall, her hands grasping around her neck; it was as if she was trying to push someone away.

 _"_ _Lucia!"_

She was kicking out, but it was no use—whatever was strangling her was strong. It seemed the assailant was from Limbo and only she could see it.

"Fuck— _fuck_ —" Dave fumbled for his shotgun.

 _"_ _Paix à votre âme tourmentée, paix à votre âme tourmentée,"_ Lucia was breathing out. _"_ _Trouver la lumière dans le plus sombre des nuits. Et fuir ceux qui vous tenir emprisonné. Écouteront ma prière, écouteront ma prière. Fuir les forces obscures qui vous maintiennent. Échapper à ceux qui vous a fait corrompu. Trouver votre chemin, que vous avez trouvé le mien. Aide-toi, le ciel t'aidera!"_

A furious wind blew at them—Lucia fell on the floor, coughing and gasping, her hair whipping back from her face while Dave raised his arms over his head. The wind died after a few moments then everything was still.

"Jesus," Dave gasped. "Lucy—" He ran toward Lucia and offered his hand to help her stand. She took it and went up to her feet. "Are you okay? What happened? Was that a demon—?"

She shook her head.

"No," she began hoarsely. "I-It's—it's him—it was Arwin. Arwin just attacked me."

* * *

They entered another room, and this time it was empty, except for the large painting displayed across them. Dante felt a pang as he moved closer and studied it.

There she was, holding up a blue rose, which he knew symbolized unconditional and everlasting love. He looked at her wavy red hair as they caressed her shoulders. Her sweet smile sent a chill down his spine as he remembered how he will never get to hear or see her again. His gaze hovered to the amulet she was wearing; his fingers touched the same amulet that bound his neck. Lastly he found her eyes. Her bright blue eyes, shining hopefully and lovingly down at him, at her son. He wondered where her soul could be now, if she knew what was happening to him and his twin brother. Would she have been proud of him? Or angry and ashamed because it was he who pushed Vergil away and drowned him in a pool of hate and vengeance?

"That's her?" Raia said. "Your mom?"

Dante started; he turned to look at her, greatly at a loss for words.

Raia regarded him thoughtfully for a minute. She glanced back to the painting and mumbled, "She's so beautiful."

Dante did not say anything. He found it hard to think. He almost forgot how painful it was for him whenever anyone talked about Eva.

And seeing the only image of her there . . . it made him suffer an ache he could not explain.

"I'm sure she's proud of you," Raia whispered, still gazing at the painting. It was as if she could see into his mind. "Look at you. It took you all the strength and courage you have to not succumb to darkness. With the life you had, I'm amazed how it didn't occur to you to just let demons rule this world."

"You think so?" Dante finally said, his voice almost cracking. He cleared his throat, avoiding her as she looked at him.

She touched his shoulder. "I'd be proud of you."

Dante stared at her. There it was again, that feeling. For all the sake of this world, they were trapped in Limbo, they were in danger of not being able to get out, and they have to find a dead body. Why did this girl made him feel so weak? It's just been a day, and yet, it felt like he has known her for a long time and could see right through her. She was still grieving, but somehow he knew she could feel it as well, for something sparked in her brown eyes. Her fingers slowly lowered down his arm, and despite the thickness of his coat, a burn seemed to make him melt right there.

Something moved.

Dante whipped around. Raia had withdrawn her hand from him, saying, "What? What was that?"

"I just saw something," Dante replied. "Like a shadow. Could be a demon."

Both of them readied their weapons.

"It could be that thing, like the one back in the nightclub," Raia said. "That super-fast and disgusting demon."

 _Swish._

Dante craned his neck to another door. The shadow had moved there.

Was it just him, or the shadow was shaped like a human?

 _"_ _No!"_

Raia was screaming; when Dante turned, he saw her being flung across the room, hitting a wall. She landed on a heap to the floor, unconscious.

"Hwang!"

Something hit his head; he yelped, falling on the floor. His vision blurred—all he could see were vague forms erupting from the ground and what seemed to be a pair of feet approaching him. Hands grabbed the scruff of his neck and he was lifted off the ground. When his vision cleared, Dante gasped in shock.

"Arwin?"

Unruly black hair, long nose and stern eyes, which, instead of piercing green, were black eyeballs, his pupils blood-red. Unlike the hopeful face he had seen in the photo, the one glaring at him right now was murderous. Like all the soul he had had been taken away from him, leaving behind an empty shell.

"W-What are you doing?" Dante grunted, gripping his wrists. "Let go of me!"

He seemed to heed his request. Arwin shoved him on the wall and kicked him in the stomach; Dante coughed out blood, doubling over. He struggled to stand although the boy before him kicked at him again, now punching him across the face then stomping at his chest.

Dante wiped the blood from his lips, glowering at Arwin. He seemed to be waiting for him to stand up and fight. Rising feebly, he felt for Ebony, careful not to take it out just yet. Demons were already swarming behind the boy, and if he was certain about it, Dante thought Arwin was controlling them for they were not yet attacking him.

He looked down at the boy's shirt underneath the jacket. An obscene amount of blood spread across his torso. Scratches and marks were visible on his pale neck.

This boy was dead. He was as white as paper, and the bags under his eyes have turned gray. How was it possible that he was still moving?

"Arwin—"

It was all a blur—Dante evaded just in time as Arwin dashed in incredible speed at him and punched the wall where his face had been. The stone broke, and had Dante stayed there—he could not imagine what would happen. He began firing at him, and suddenly the demons started attacking him—more lesser Stygians were swinging their swords at him.

Dante was forced to ignore Arwin as he was being flooded with demons—he swung his arms and they grew five times their normal size, becoming as solid as rocks. Flames danced from his fists, then he began punching every demon he could get at, their faces getting crushed.

A Harpy demon appeared out of nowhere, swooping down at him; Dante grabbed her by the ankle and slammed her down the floor, her head snapping and spurting out grime before vanishing into smoke. An elite Stygian slashed at him with its bastard sword—he turned on him, kicking out and bringing down his enlarged fists at it.

Dante looked around over the crowd of demons. There, on the far side of the room still lay Raia. She was not moving.

"Dammit," Dante growled. He avoided a fireball from a Bathos. It had landed on a group of Stygians who all exploded.

The throng was thinning. Dante looked around again and realized that Arwin was nowhere to be found.

"Fuck this." His hands returned to normal. He was holding Aquila, and in a stance, he span, and span, and span, until he formed a whirlwind using his own body, his cycling blades spread out, dragging demons with him. All who got caught transformed into smoke, quickly eliminating the majority of his opponents. He wanted to stop now for his head was getting dizzy, but he had to get rid of them, all these demons—

Dante stopped, forcing his feet to stay still. His blades fell on the floor, and he too knelt down, gasping for breath. His weapons disappeared, his sword Rebellion reappearing on his back. He did not know how exactly it happened, but the room was empty except for him and the unconscious Raia. He did not know how long he'd been spinning around, but he was thankful that the demons were finally gone.

He hoped it was the last of them. Exhaustion was finally getting to him.

His knees were shaking. He willed himself to stand, and when he was finally able to, he walked toward Raia and sat before her, reaching for her neck and checking her pulse. Dante let out a breath of relief. She was still alive. He softly tapped her cheek.

"Hwang," he whispered. "Wake up. Hey."

She did not stir.

Dante rubbed at his face. He couldn't carry her in this condition. He was still too weak. He just sat there, staring at her, trying his best not to admire her full lips. But then he noticed something.

Dante had seen her wound earlier, for a shard of the jagged rock from the Witch had went through her shoulder, and for the last hour, he had been worried about her although the girl just ignored the wound. The torn sleeve went wider, revealing her bloodied shoulder. Dante inched closer to her and inspected it.

 _No_ . . . that can't be possible. . . .

Against his own will, Dante carefully opened the upper portion of her buttoned shirt and checked her other shoulder. She had replaced her bandage on it yesterday, but now it wasn't covered.

He shook his head. How can it be . . . ?

Both of Raia's injuries were gone. Healed. Like she was never hurt.


	7. 06 - And They Kill

SIX

 **And They Kill**

 **Raia stirred.** A terrible ache attacked her head. She tried to straighten up although her back failed her.

"What happened?" she heard herself say.

They were still in the room where Eva's painting was displayed. It was empty except for her and the young man who sat beside her, glaring at his mother's portrait and seemed to be trying to pull himself together.

"Hey demon boy," Raia said again. "What happened?"

Dante glanced at her.

Was he angry?

"We've been attacked. You were knocked out."

"And?"

He didn't answer.

"That shadow earlier," Raia tried again. "Was it . . . ?"

Dante looked away.

"Are you okay?"

He snorted. "Yeah. I feel perfect right now. Do you?"

Raia forced herself to straighten up once more. She tried to touch his arm, but he swung away, standing up on his feet.

"What's wrong with you?"

Dante shrugged. "Oh, none. Nothing's wrong with me. Maybe you've got something wrong with _you_."

"Of course I have. My back's aching like hell." She pushed herself up, her knees wobbling. She leaned against the wall for support, finally getting back up on her feet, however feebly.

The young man sneered at her. "Oh yeah? You're hurt?"

Raia scoffed. Her eyes narrowing at him, she hissed, "What the hell, Dante? What's the big deal with you? What did exactly happen? I am injured here—"

Dante was suddenly laughing out loud even though there was nothing funny at all. Raia shuddered. He sounded _scary_. "You tell me, princess. Where are your injuries?"

The girl stared, confused.

"Don't tell me you didn't notice, Hwang," Dante hissed, stepping closer to her. "Don't fuck around. _Who are you?_ "

"Dante—"

He grabbed her wrist tight, so tight Raia winced as if he had slapped her. She wanted to snatch her hand back, but she was too weak to do so. She looked up at his eyes, and if before they were so pretty to look at, now she realized how frightening they could be.

"Your injuries are gone, Hwang," Dante snapped. "I saw your shoulder. I had to check the left too. I saw you changing bandages yesterday. How is that possible? Who are you—"

"Let—let me go!" Raia backed away. She almost lost her balance, but with the wall behind her she was able to settle herself. "I-I don't know what you're talking about—"

 _"_ _Don't fuck with me!"_ Dante bellowed. "Who are you? Are you—are you a demon or something—?"

"I am not a demon!" Raia shouted back. "Look, we do not have any time for this—"

"Unfortunately for you, I have a lot of time for this," Dante snarled. "You could be an enemy, you could kill me anytime you want, or you could've been possessed for all I know—"

"I am not possessed, I'm not an enemy, and I'm not planning to kill you!" Raia yelled, feeling a lump rise in her throat. She stood there, watching him, afraid of what he would do to her. He had been nothing but nice to her when they were finally getting along, and now—now—

How careless has she become? For three years, The Enlightenment never knew, never suspected—even Arwin—

No. There was one who knew. _Him_.

Raia wanted to strangle herself. Of all people, these two were the ones who saw what she was capable of—

She retreated a few steps away from him. She felt so exposed. She never felt so vulnerable.

Dante took three deep breaths. He closed his eyes and put his face into his hands.

"Hwang," he began, voice straining. He looked up at her and his gaze gradually softened, but a great hesitation was still there. "I don't want to hurt you. If you're telling me the truth, just please. Tell me who you are. I'm serious—I don't want to hurt you."

She bit her lip. She slowly shook her head, turning down on the floor.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what to tell you. I swear, I don't know what to tell you—"

"What is it you can't tell me? This? Your power or something? Do they even know about this? Dave? Arwin? Andrew?"

"No," Raia shook her head again. "No, none of them know, they don't have to—"

"They don't have to know that they can't trust you? Because that is how I see it, Hwang—I can't trust you—"

"God, I promise I'm not planning to hurt any of you, any of them! The Enlightenment—they are my family—you have no idea how this is going with me—"

"And that is the problem! I have no fucking idea who, or what, or whatever it is you're planning to do! We're fucking stuck in Limbo and Arwin's goddamned corpse attacked us and now I found out that your fucking wounds heal like mine do! Now I don't know what to do, I don't know if I could trust you! Then I hear that the group does not even know who you really are! What the fuck do you expect me to do, Hwang? Pray it out? Let it out on faith? Hell, I'm not doing that. Hell, I gotta know what I'm dealing with—"

"And I am here telling you that I am not going to hurt any of you! It doesn't matter if you can't trust me—but you have to believe me when I say I am not an enemy—"

Dante gave her a glare so intense she found herself shutting up. He was partly angry, partly confused, but mostly he seemed— _afraid_ —of what he would do to her had she lied.

He cleared his throat.

"Hwang." His eyes searched hers. They were so bright, like a fire that can never be extinguished. "Please. Who are _you_?"

Raia was shaking uncontrollably. The threat of her identity was great, so great—it was too much for her to handle. There was nowhere to run, there was no way she could pretend.

"Whatever I say . . . you have to believe me. This is too complicated and I myself am having a hard time figuring it all out."

Dante's eyebrows contracted. "What do you mean?"

Raia heaved a deep sigh.

"I don't who I am. I don't know _what_ I am. I could be a demon, I could be an angel. I could be Nephilim too; either way, I don't know. I'm on a major identity crisis and there isn't anyone I could talk to. There are very few people I trust but I can't tell them anything. Something just keeps holding me back."

Dante stared at her. He opened his mouth to speak but quickly shut it. He thought for seconds before saying, "What keeps you from saying something? And if you really can't tell someone, why not look into it?"

The girl shrugged. "I did, a million times already. None of them even gave me a hint. I don't know what stops me although I get the feeling I'll regret it if I told someone."

"Can't you remember anything, like, glimpses? Don't you get dreams about your past? When I was still suffering amnesia, I always hear a voice in my dreams. My mom. I always hear her but I never saw her face."

Raia shook her head. "None. Ever. And it scares me. I've tried those stuff Lucia's been making, those that could help with dreams and memories. She doesn't know I've been taking them, though, so it drove her furious every time one of her 'potions' went missing. Still, none ever helped me remember." She frowned. She took another deep breath, adding carefully, "But . . . there's this one thing that's been bugging me for a very long time now. I've been called this name twice although no one really explained to me what it means."

Dante glowered. "And this name is . . . ?"

"Years before joining The Enlightenment I fought this demon, a greater one. He was a businessman and was involved with human trafficking. I was one of his victims. One of his associates took interest in me and bought me." She glanced at Dante whose eyes widened in shock.

"That's fucked up."

"Don't worry. He never got to do what he wanted to do with me. I didn't let him. I killed him before he could tie me up in his bed chamber.

"I went after the demon. I wanted him to pay and I wanted the other victims to be free. When we fought, I kind of went berserk. I almost lost it and it was the very first time I knew I had powers. Real, offensive powers. Before, all I ever noticed about myself was that I was a damn good fighter and my wounds always heal quickly. But then I faced that demon and all I could think was I'm not human at all. And when he saw what I could do, he kept repeating the words, 'It's you. The _warrior_.' He said it like it was such a big deal. I also got to fight another demon, a politician. This time, I was already with The Enlightenment. Arwin and the others were knocked out, almost dying, and I went berserk again. He muttered the same thing as he died. _'You're the Warrior.'"_

"You have no idea what's this shit about the Warrior?" Dante asked.

"None."

"And you never asked anyone about this?"

"Never. I'm scared of asking someone. I've been thinking that maybe Lucia knows something since the clan where she came from is hundreds of years old and their history is unique, but very, very few demons know about this Warrior. All the other greater demons I've hunted down know nothing of her; I won't be surprised if Lucia had not heard of her."

"What about Andrew? He was friends with my parents. My dad was Mundus's right-hand man and brother, he could've told Andrew anything. He trusted him."

Raia hesitated. "I don't know. There is something about him I can't explain. It's insane."

"Insane how?" Dante asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I . . . I feel like there are a lot of things he's hiding. I could just sense it. Don't get me wrong; I like Andrew a lot. He's a good man, a good leader. He's like a father to me. But . . . I don't trust him. He doesn't give off any bad vibe, but somehow, I just can't trust him. At least not now."

Dante gazed down at his feet, thinking. He wasn't answering, and the way his eyes darkened made Raia nervous. Would he believe her? Would he keep this secret from everyone?

"Do you believe me?" she asked. "I swear I'm not lying. I wouldn't hurt any of you guys."

He glanced back to her. He made it difficult for her to relax even though he was no longer yelling. His clear gaze looked so piercing she wondered how on earth he could not read minds.

"I'm having a hard time believing all this. There's a few stuff that still don't make sense to me. Hopefully it'll all come along and I sure hope as hell you're not lying. I don't know what I'd do."

Raia let out a soft laugh. "I'm hoping that I'm not an enemy. If I finally remember who I am, I hope I won't regret getting my memories back. Being part of the group has been like one of the best things that ever happened to me."

Dante sighed this time. He leaned beside her, still looking at her. She tried to return his gaze, making sure her sincerity showed there.

"I'll help you find out who you are," he said.

She stared at him. She had not expected this. "Will you . . . ?"

"Yeah. I've got to. Besides, you owe me that. I'm not gonna tell 'em anything. I'll keep your secret safe, act like this never happened. But between us, no. I'll always be bothered about it until I find out what your past was. I'm honestly losing it; I really thought you were bad news. I think I earned a right to know who you are. After keeping an eye on me for months and catching you red-handed."

"You don't know how to give up, do you?"

He shrugged. "No harm there."

The girl tried stretching although her spine protested. Cursing under her breath, she said, "Fair enough." She pulled away from the wall, adding, "We have to get moving, though. I know what I saw before I passed out. And if you're telling me that Arwin attacked both of us"—she cringed at her own words—"he should be . . . stopped."

Dante didn't say anything.

"Is he . . . is he really dead?" Her tone was hopeful. All Raia could remember was glimpsing Arwin's silhouette. The rest came out as a blur, then everything blacked out. She wanted to hear Dante say he could have mistook him for dead, but deep inside, she was not expecting much. Hoping, however . . . it was all she had.

The other didn't seem ready to tell her what she had to hear. He avoided her face, mumbling, "He's beaten like hell, Hwang. Appearances like that . . . I'm sorry. But he's gone."

Raia forced a smile, letting the pain set in. It wasn't compared to all the bone-breaking fighting and limb-chopping action she'd ever experienced. Arwin had meant the world to her. To witness him—his corpse—in a state like this . . . it was torture.

"Funny how finding a body had been the priority."

Dante held up his chin. "Life's nothing but a fucking prank. Keep that in mind."

* * *

Dave returned from the watch. He went around the courtyard and the garden five times consecutively before finally accepting that there was nothing else to see. He halted by the entrance and saw Lucia sitting on the floor, shaken. She was looking at the ward she had drawn which still glowed. She had not spoken much after exclaiming that it was Arwin who attacked her, so Dave resorted to inspecting the perimeter to make it clear that he was not missing anything more.

He sat across Lucia. She was twiddling with her knife.

"Have you tried contacting them yet?" Dave asked.

"I did," she muttered. "I tried every spell I could. None of them worked."

Dave laid down his shotgun on the floor, taking out a box of cigarettes. He offered it to Lucia who declined. He pulled a cigar and a lighter.

"Are you sure it was Arwin you saw, Lucy?" he said, sticking the cigar in between his teeth.

"Yes. I've known him for way too long a time to get second thoughts."

"So . . . you think he's possessed?" Dave pulled the cigarette and breathed out smoke.

Lucia stuck the knife on the floor. She folded up her knees and rested her chin there.

"If he is . . . Raia must kill him. If she can't, then the Nephilim boy has to."

Dave glanced down the ward as well. There was nothing more to say.

"I guess waiting's all we gotta do now. Hope they get here on time."

* * *

It was yet another room similar to the one that kept Eva's portrait. This time, the painting was of a man holding Dante's sword, Rebellion. He was wearing a red soldier's uniform and his face had been scratched on, making it impossible to glimpse his features.

"And I'll assume he is your dad," Raia said.

"Yeah. I don't remember us being much close though. Could've been. Hard to recall."

Dante halted and fired at small Critter demons scattering around his feet. They were huge, spider-like beings that only crawled at tight corners and spacious areas. They were completely harmless, although he hated every kind of monster he saw.

He replaced Ebony and Ivory in their holsters and turned to the girl who was still pale. She insisted on getting a move on and that she didn't need any assistance in walking. She had claimed that her back was getting better and it would only slow them down had he forced to help her. Now she was there, standing behind him, studying the painting, her breath still unsteady.

"You sure you don't need help?"

Raia gazed at him. "No. I'm fine, really."

"I . . . I'm not sure if I should apologize about earlier. But I have to."

She grimaced. "No, demon boy. Don't apologize. I don't deserve it."

"When would you tell me more about yourself?"

Dante must have imagined it, but for a moment he thought he saw the girl's cheeks flush.

"My amnesia thing still not enough?"

"A bit."

"Well, for now, there are no plans. Consider it told next time."

"Fine."

Raia resumed walking, gaining ahead of him. "Then we move. After this, there will be the corridors, right? The main hall, entryway . . . "

"Arwin," Dante finished for her.

The girl stopped short.

"Yeah. Him."

They exited the room, their pace getting quicker as they moved down the corridors. More Critters haunted the corners. Dante was forced to ignore them as the same dark energy made the hairs on the back of his neck stand. Raia beside him kept her head up high despite her feeble stature. They climbed down the staircase leading to the main hall, and there, they halted and remained rooted to their spots. The entryway loomed feet from them. They could only hope that Lucia has opened a gateway, for if she did, Raia wasn't sensing anything.

And there it was again. _Swish._ A shadow passed behind them.

Dante took Rebellion and readied himself. Raia looked sideways at him. She spread her fingers on either side of her, and in a flash of a dazzling silver light, twin sabers appeared in her slim hands. She stood still and waited.

The floor shook. The main hall expanded, stretching feet from them, in all directions—the walls of the house broke apart, revealing more of the sky outside, the courtyard and the garden floating up above them—

The entryway flew away, dividing into small sections, Dante realizing how hard it would be for them to get there—he also realized that if this was happening, then maybe Lucia did open a gateway—

The grand staircase crumbled, falling into the void below them; two large demons struck out and straightened from the floor, glowering at the two: both of them were Tyrant demons which were extremely difficult to put down—

And there, in the center of the room, Arwin Dunn landed, as if he was the one responsible for all this atrocity about them. Dante could see Raia wince at his side, although she did a stance, waiting for an attack.

Dante charged first while the two Tyrants ran for them; Dante dodged just in time as the one going for him jumped and landed with an enormous _THUD!_ on the floor. He threw out his Ophion, the grappling hook biting tight on the exposed flesh of the Tyrant's back. The demon was dragged down, spread-eagled—Dante slammed the Arbiter which took form in his hands on its back, spurting out grime. It was not yet dead. As the Nephilim hit him, the demon suddenly stood up and punched him across the face—the punch was too hard Dante flew sideways and fell from the levitating hall—the void would have no end—

He quickly whipped out the Ophion for the second time: the snake's head stuck itself on the floor—he was pulled upward, safe on the ground again—

The Tyrant dashed at him, its bulky arms spreading wide, as if to give him a hug—

Dante jumped up, locking his legs on the demon's head. He almost slid and lost his balance; he grabbed Rebellion and stabbed the sword on the demon's flesh—there was a roar, although the Tyrant wasn't dying—it raised its hands and grabbed his legs. It threw him on the floor, his sword stuck on its back—

There was a loud scream. Raia was also thrown away by her opponent; she managed to roll and sit up, twisting herself off the floor as her Tyrant dived on where she had been.

"Dante, watch out!" she cried at him.

Dante had not realized he was watching; he found himself being crushed on his back as his Tyrant head-butted him on the ground. His back burned and ached. He pushed himself up on his elbows, every part of his body screaming. His spine wanted him to lie down a little bit longer, although upon seeing the demon getting ready for another dash, he forced himself on his feet.

The Tyrant was indeed at it again, and this time he was prepared: soon as the enemy was close enough, Dante tore himself out of the way, doing a small hairpin bend and reaching out for his weapon—hands clasping onto the hilt, he kicked out his foot, wrenching Rebellion while the demon growled out in pain.

"Fucking— _dammit!_ "

The sword parted from the Tyrant's flesh. With another roar, it tripped and fell, its metallic limbs thumping on the floor. Dante didn't pause to wait now—he charged and dug his sword deeply into the demon's exposed flesh. Huge puffs of smoke exploded into the scene before the creature disappeared.

When Dante whipped around to check on how Raia was doing, he found her jabbing her sabers at her Tyrant's back. He went to her to help, although Arwin jumped before him, giving him a most deadly glare.

Dante clenched his jaws. He had to help the girl. She was obviously having a hard time fighting, what with her current condition. But he also had to get rid of Arwin now before he attacks Raia. She wouldn't be able to bring herself to put him down.

"Hey," Dante said. "Arwin? You in there?"

The boy's body jerked upright. He lunged forward; Dante blocked with his sword and aimed a hard kick at his stomach. Arwin flew aside but he regained his balance: he crouched, all his ten fingers digging into the floor to avoid sliding further away, his hands leaving a trail of blood. He sprang up to his feet and was already at Dante's back in the blink of an eye. He raised his hand to punch but Dante sidestepped and did an outward arc with the Rebellion that caught at his chest. As he did not seem to feel pain, the sword went through him, and he kept on until he was only a few centimeters away from the sword's hilt.

Dante steadied himself to avoid falling on his back. He dragged his weapon away from Arwin and kicked at him again, causing him to recoil. He later found his footing.

 _How on earth is this happening?_ Dante thought, panting. He was worried: with all the fighting hours ago, his exhaustion was already slowing him down. Arwin wasn't feeling any of that; he was dead. Beating him would be an extremely tedious thing to do.

He straightened up. He stared directly at the boy's red-pupiled eyes, studying them, thinking of some way to beat him and get this over with.

There was a flash of movement: Dante had raised his Rebellion just in time to receive Arwin's blow as his fist hit the blade full and Dante was skidding backwards, crouching slightly to prevent himself from dipping back on the floor. He slid his right foot behind his left, widening the distance to regain control, straining the muscles in his thighs and biceps altogether as Arwin kept pushing forward and he was being pushed continuously.

Dante gathered enough strength: He did a front slash that made the boy back away. He was the one to lunge forward this time, quickly thrusting his sword several times at Arwin who dodged here and there; Dante span and jumped off from the ground into the air, the Rebellion transforming into the Arbiter: he went down with the weapon's full weight, about to smash Arwin—

 _"_ _NO!"_ Raia screamed at the top of her lungs. She had just finished killing her Tyrant demon.

The battle-axe went down with a loud, sickening thud on the floor.

Landing smoothly, Dante released Arbiter and it turned back to Rebellion once more, glaring at the body that should have lain in front of him.

But there was no body anymore.

Dante looked around to find Arwin just behind Raia.

"Hwang—"

The dead boy's arm wrapped around her neck, disabling her to breathe; Raia choked, struggling—she was forced to drop her sabers as Arwin drew her dagger from her belt and pointed it on her head.

"No—Arwin, no—it's me—you have to hear me—"

"I'll drop my sword!" Dante shouted desperately. His eyes stung due to the thick beads of sweat dripping down his face. Slowly, ever so slowly, he knelt on the floor, setting Rebellion at his feet. He stood back up, hands raised on his head.

"I don't fucking know if you can hear me. But you've got to release her. Okay?"

The boy responded with a lifeless stare.

"Dammit, Arwin," Dante hissed. "Let go of her. If there's any bit of your soul left there— That's your girlfriend! Was—but you loved her! Just let her go!"

Raia was turning blue. Her eyes were rolling back.

Shit. Shit. _Shit._

Dante was confused at what happened next: Arwin pushed Raia off him, the Nephilim ran to her to catch her. Arwin threw the dagger at them; because Raia had almost fallen on the floor, the weapon hit Dante's shoulder and he cursed painfully. The dead boy was upon them, carrying Raia's sabers—

"Argh!" Dante rolled onto his side and kicked; Arwin slashed at him, but Dante was quicker: he had left the girl on the floor and raised up his hands—

Blood spattered his face.

The blades dug in his hands as he continued to block. Arwin kept on lowering the weapon to him. Dante's knees were wobbling, his arms shaking violently, his hands would get chopped off him and fall away from him anytime soon—

A dagger ran through Arwin's face.

There was a gasp of shock. Arwin fell face-first on the floor, the sabers sliding out of his grip. When Dante glanced in front of him, he saw Raia quivering and tears were falling from her eyes.

"I—I—"

Dante felt dizzy. He almost doubled down; Raia held him steady, her arms finding their way around him. Arwin's body dissolved into smoke, the dagger landing with a tiny clang on the ground.

Raia kept shivering on him. Her sobs were muffled on his chest.

"Hwang," Dante whispered. His bloodied hands circled her waist. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

The girl did not hesitate now. She cried there in his arms. She cried there like a child who has lost her way and wanted to come back home.


	8. UPDATES

**Heya guys! I'm back!**

 **Thanks for your patience; I've been really busy reediting stuff and I finally finished chapter 12 just last week. Boy, it actually had 6 versions and ten rewrites, whew!**

 **As for the timeline, I stuck with the DmC twins being 19 years old. I guess you could say I abused my fanfic advantage and went on with it, but I think it fits better with the story. I hope y'all would forgive me, lol**

 **If you have read my announcement (which I have already deleted as promised), then you should know that you guys will have to read the fanfic from the start. I've updated the prologue up to the current chapter and it may confuse you guys if you went on with the new chapters when I have already edited some scenes from the previous ones. Real sorry 'bout that :(**

 **Seriously, you're gonna have to read from the start if you've already checked the old chapters out :(**

 **Thank you so much! I'll stop babbling! Lol**

* * *

 **UPDATED CHAPTERS:**

Prologue up to Chapter Six

 **New chapters on this page:** Chapter Seven onwards

* * *

This update is dated **May 16, 2017**. The announcement I made was made way back from **March- April 2017** , It think? Ugh, I can't remember, I deleted the announcement chapter right away uhhhh

Anyways, if you're new to this fic and **have not read the the announcement chapter** , please carry on reading! No need to go back! Thanks!


	9. 07 - Damnation

SEVEN

 **Damnation**

 **Dante groggily opened his eyes.** Strong light streamed through the windows, stinging his vision. The curtains have been pulled up. He shielded his face with a hand, turning lazily to his right. He grabbed a pillow and held it tight to his chest, stifling a yawn. He pulled up his blanket to cover his entire body, the cold now finally getting to him. He was only wearing his boxer shorts for his all his clothes stank mostly of sweat and blood. He was thankful to Charlie for he had given him an extra set of shirts, jeans, and jackets he had taken from the bunker, although he was too beaten up to wear them, so he simply tossed himself into bed soon as he was inside his room, discarding his clothes. All his muscles protested even under the slightest hints of movement. He didn't want to sit up yet. He knew it was already noon, but he didn't care. Sleeping there in his bed all day seemed to be the most brilliant idea he had ever thought of.

He could hear a shuffle of footsteps here and there, and voices hissing under their breaths. He thought it could have been Nero who was experiencing painful stabs from his burned arm. Lucia must have been trying to cure him for a while now. He could also hear Nelly asking if the boy was all right, her tiny voice scared and concerned.

There was a knock on his door.

"Dante?" It was Kat.

He grunted in his pillow. _Leave me alone,_ he thought. _I wanna sleep._

"Come in," he said against all his will, twisting to face the ceiling.

There was a tiny creak as the door opened. Kat held a bright red apple in her hand. She bit onto it, letting out a loud crunch.

"It's lunchtime," she said. "Andrew's asking if you're coming down."

"Later," Dante muttered. "I don't wanna leave my bed. You have no idea how comforting this is."

Kat raised an eyebrow. "Tell me about it. Come on, you need to eat something. You skipped dinner last night."

He turned away from her and buried his face in his pillows again.

"You guys go ahead. I'm not hungry."

"But they have bacon."

Dante did not move.

"Steak?"

He did not answer.

"Pizza?"

"Kat, please," Dante snapped, his voice muffled. "You could bring me some beer."

He could see the girl in his mind shake her head in disapproval.

"Jeez, Dante," she said. "I said food, not beverage. If you want beer, go get it yourself," she added pointedly, snapping the door shut.

 _Finally,_ he mused.

The events yesterday were blurry to him now. All he could remember was being beaten up to death with all the fighting. After Arwin's corpse was gotten rid of, he and Raia Hwang rushed to the entryway when Limbo started quaking, the Paradise mansion collapsing in its state. They were lucky Lucia had opened a gateway for them, for it appeared that there was no other way they could escape the dimension. They were meant to be trapped in there.

The ride back to the cabin had been quiet. Raia was seated at his side, gazing out the window, her makeup messy after crying. Lucia and Dave asked questions in which they were unable to answer, so the two had not forced them to say anything and simply drove back to the cabin in utter silence. When they got back, that was when the four of them told them their stories, how Dante and Raia got dragged into Limbo and how Dave and Lucia were left trying to figure out how to get them back to the real world. Dante had specifically left the details of Raia's secret, pulling out a few lies and excuses every now and then just to give their adventure some justice. The girl had not talked much. After the meeting was called over she ran up to her room and locked herself in, avoiding everyone, even Dante. He gave up trying to get her to talk to him. Irritated, he stormed into his own room and slept it all out. He thought that after everything that had happened in Paradise, the girl would finally open up to him and explain all that she could. But now it seemed that they've only been set further apart.

He could not understand what was happening to her. She was grieving, sure, but she needed all the help she can get in moving on and recovering her memories. He readily offered to help her, and she looked glad for someone had actually bothered to have anything to do with her. But now she was pushing him away. And it annoyed him.

He turned himself away from his pillows. He wiped at the sweat on his face, yawning again.

God, even his jaws were aching. How many punches had he received yesterday?

He looked at his hands. They were still bandaged and have not completely healed. Raia's sabers were something else. Great power emanated from them, making it impossible for his wounds to heal right away. Dante had made an excuse and said Arwin had weapons that he had blocked in order to avoid chopping off his face. The dagger that stabbed his shoulder was dipped in holy water, so it was also impossible to heal in due time either. The burn on his back made for a terrible pain as well. And with all the running and hurling and kicking from yesterday? He could not even believe he had survived that.

Was all this just because of the inaction this previous year?

How he hated himself right now.

There was another knock on the door. Dante swore.

"I got your beer," Dave said from outside.

Dante pulled his blanket away, swinging his legs off the bed and sitting on the edge. All these movements caused all his muscles to riot violently. He rubbed his face and wearily told him to enter. Dave went inside, holding two bottles of beer.

He quickly stopped and stared him up and down. He was shaking his head in disbelief.

"Christ, you look like hell," he chortled.

"Do I?" Dante murmured in his hands. He put them down and took the bottle Dave offered him as he sat beside him, gulping down his drink.

"What made you think I wanted the booze?" Dante asked, feeling the cold bottle in his fingers.

"Kat," the other said simply.

He snorted. "She's telling me on you now?"

Dave gave a shrug. "She wanted you to come down. She's been worried."

Dante drank for a few moments then set the bottle on the floor, wiping his mouth. _Oh, the pain,_ he thought, carefully stretching his neck.

"So, what is this? You two a thing or something?"

"Nah." Dave's ears turned pink. Dante smirked at him and slapped a hand on his shoulder, to which the former brushed away.

"But you think she's cute," he teased.

Dave glowered at him, obviously fighting back his laugh. "What's wrong with you people? Lucy told me I'd been staring at her ass the other day. Charlie's been shitting around me telling me I'd get a boner anytime soon."

"Don't you?"

"Shut the fuck up, man," he said, letting out a chuckle. "I think she's adorable. She isn't exactly shy, though when you talk to her, it's like she's fumbling for a topic. Cracks me up, that one does. And . . . I also think she has no time for me. That's it."

"What made you say that?" Dante asked, watching as Dave gulped down more beer.

"Don't tell me you don't know. With you guys under our radar, I thought you've noticed. She seems pretty stuck on someone else."

Dante nodded. Of course he knew who it was. "Vergil."

"Yeah," Dave sighed. "That guy, he's an over-achiever. When he was with us, it's—it's incredible. He's a freaking knowledge monster. While me? I get bored every time I try reviewing my stuff. It's insane." He drank, adding, "And if I was into guys, I'd go crazy for the man. He's way better-looking than me."

Dante laughed softly. "But you didn't want to rule the world to make humans bow before you," he told him. "And are you kidding me? You're not bad. I could've mistaken you for a model or something. If you asked me, Vergil looked more like a boring businessman."

"You have no idea," he said. "Look at me. I'm a nobody. I'm overrated."

"Bullshit. You're a demon hunter, you want to protect people. Not everyone can live like that."

"My parents were demon hunters," Dave said as if it was enough.

"Yeah? So why didn't you leave? Nowhere else to go is a lame excuse."

Dave chuckled. "Screw you, man. I've got nothing else to say."

Dante tilted back his head and took a swig. When the bottle was empty, he set it back down, saying, "You should've left if you didn't want to kill demons, or protect people. Even if it was going to disappoint your parents. But you stayed. You're ready to risk your life. That should account for something."

Dave gave him a look that could only have been bewilderment. He was in between grinning and arguing, although he only got to say, "Since when did you become a great old sage, huh?"

Dante shrugged. "It's the beer."

Dave shoved him. The other only guffawed at him.

"Kat's right, man," he said. "You need to eat something. We spared you the pizza."

"Good. At least my life's going to make sense for a bit."

"Your obsession to pizza is alarming," Dave sneered at him. His grin faded. He suddenly became serious. "Really, though. Thanks. What you said means a lot."

"It's not a big deal," Dante said.

There was a short silence as Dave resumed his drinking. When he was finished, he began, "I still can't stop thinking about what happened yesterday. The phone, Limbo . . . Arwin." A shudder ran through him as he went on, "Why would anyone use a dead body like that? It's cruel. Arwin and I, we never really got along. He can be snobbish at times, and I wondered what Hwang saw in him. Then again, she's pretty snobbish too. All the same . . . he did not deserve that. No one does."

When the four of them had returned last night and reported the events from Paradise, everyone else had a hard time believing them. Using a corpse was news and totally unheard of. None of them heard anything about demons using dead bodies. But then, anything was possible when it came to anything related to demons. They were able to revive Limbo, weren't they? They could've found a way to bring the Hell Gate back or they might've found another place to create one. Either way, all of it proved effective if it meant disrupting their main objective. The use of Arwin's corpse was one thing, and that was how Dante saw it: he and Raia had been purposefully dragged into Limbo to face Arwin to throw them off their focus, to make them realize that the enemy this time wasn't just messing around. Whoever was behind this was making sure the group would have the most difficult time defeating him, or maybe that they can never bring him down. He was making sure everyone would pay for their crimes. And whatever those crimes were, Dante knew that they will definitely be paying for what they had done to him.

But The Enlightenment . . . what were their crimes?

"It's gotta be my brother," he said. "If he wants revenge, he'll find a way. He always does."

Dave only glared at his beer bottle.

"What do you think it is you guys did?" Dante asked him. "If it was just me, then it'll be only me he's targeting."

"Honestly, man, I'm blank at that. I tried recalling his past with all of us. Vergil's always been nice to me. Even if I'm older than him, I find myself respecting him a lot. The others, Lucy, Charlie and Arwin, they're also cool with him. Andrew, too. Only when he was about to leave, Arwin had a row with him. He's always been closest to Andrew. So when Vergil insulted Andrew, Arwin, he . . . he was scary that time. They were totally trying to kill each other off."

"Hwang told me they were kinda close."

"Hell yeah, they were. So it was really a bummer when it happened, when he left. Andrew's broken, Arwin hates him to death."

"But it was Arwin who looked for him when Nero told you guys it was my brother who infected him."

Dave sighed. "I guess he did miss his best friend."

"Hwang never said why she and her ex broke up, right?" Dante said.

"Yeah. We're the pals here. Charlie and Lucy are too mature and they're something else. Hwang's always stuck with me although she rarely says anything about herself. I guess after all this time, in three years, I still don't know who she really is. And she's never gonna tell me why she and Arwin split."

 _Makes sense,_ Dante told himself.

"I think I want more beer," Dave said, standing up, gathering their bottles. "You'd better get downstairs. I am going to attack the pizza if you don't."

"You won't," Dante said, hurling himself back onto bed. "You spared it for me."

The other smirked, about to leave when he paused on the threshold. He turned back to him and said, "My dad had been infected when I was ten. He killed Mom. I had to end his suffering."

Dante stared. He was out of words.

"I guess I wanted revenge back then, you know? Silly ten-year-olds and their schemes. Then I realized it wasn't revenge I needed. I had to help people. No family should ever be broken like that."

"I . . . ," Dante mumbled. "I'm sorry, Dave. Glad you found your way."

"Me too," he replied. With an awkward smile, he left the room and closed the door.

Dante leaned back on his pillows. Sleep had finally left him. All there was now were his aching limbs. He could also feel his tummy grumble. Maybe it was indeed time for the pizza.

He reeled himself off the bed, pulling on a pair of jeans he grabbed from a nearby chair. Piles of them along with the shirts and jackets had fallen on the floor. He tugged on a long-sleeved t-shirt and kicked in to his military boots. He turned on the door and pulled it open, seeing the other rooms closed. He glanced at the one to his right which was two doors away.

Had she woken? Was she still busy ignoring everybody else?

"Don't—just don't touch me!"

Dante whirled at the room to his left. The door was slightly ajar. He approached, peeking inside.

Nero was seated on the bed, shaking, his other hand gripping his charcoal-black arm. Lucia stood over him holding a syringe.

"If we don't put more of those—" Lucia was saying.

"No, I can't," Nero breathed heavily. "It's burning. _Dammit._ Why didn't he just kill me?"

"Nero, I have heard you say that millions of times already. If you died, who's going to save your friend?"

The boy shook his head. "He didn't have to take her. What does she have to do with this?"

"Guys . . . ?" Dante could not stop himself. He pushed the door an inch. The two immediately looked up at him. Nero was dumbstruck.

Lucia went to him and whispered, "What are you doing? Now isn't a good time—"

"I was going to ask if you guys needed help," Dante sputtered. In the corner of his eye he saw Nero lowering his head. "He's not all right," he murmured. "What's happening to him?"

"The poison has fully spread all over his body," Lucia said dolefully. She crossed her arms and seemed lost. "I don't know what to do. The burn's slowly going up. He's turning." She gave a deep sigh. "Kat had been helping me this morning, but she also has no clue what to do. I can't—I can't see him like this." She glanced over her shoulder to Nero who remained glowering at the floor. Looking back at Dante, she said, "I don't understand what he's got to do with all this. He's just an innocent kid. Whatever's been done to him—it's horrible."

"What's Andrew been doing?"

"He's trying to look for a cure. He knows there is none, but he's not giving up on him. I'm afraid there is nothing more I can do."

Dante stared at Nero. He was slowly getting up on his feet and pulling his maroon hoodie over his black shirt.

"Didn't he leave last night?" he asked Lucia.

"Yes. He went out with Charlie after we returned, after the meeting. They just got back this morning."

"What's that you've been giving him?" he pointed to the syringe which contained a clear, transparent liquid.

"Holy water." When Dante gave her a questioning look, she added, "The ones used for blades were blessed with prayers for battle. These are for healing and resisting demonic power."

"Right," he said. "D'you need help or something?"

Lucia shook her head. "As for the time being, no. Thank you. Nero," she turned to the boy, "would you want to go down and have lunch?"

"Not really," he replied, settling down on his bed.

Dante released his hold on the doorknob and moved away. "I'll be in the kitchen."

"Sure," Lucia said, closing the door.

It was a few moments before Dante went downstairs and made for the kitchen. A large box of pizza lay on the table which was left open. He sat and took a slice, biting large bits, few of the toppings falling back on the box. He ate three more slices then got up and went for the refrigerator. He took a bottle of beer, opening it with his hand and taking a swig. It was just then when he realized Raia was not around in the cabin.

The only ones who had been in the living room when he passed by were Dave and Kat. He had not seen her there. He wondered where she could be right now and what could she possibly be doing. He had not remembered to ask anyone about her. Without her around somehow worried him: for the last two days with The Enlightenment he had been so used to seeing the girl emerging here and there.

The events of yesterday made it even worse. For hours they had spent the time venturing Limbo together to find a way out of the damn place.

Someone ran in the kitchen and pulled the pizza box. It was Nelly. She sat on the chair and took a slice. She looked up at him and stared with her large brown eyes.

"Hi," she said, her small voice muffled by her munching.

"Hey," Dante said.

Nelly swallowed, wiping her mouth. She watched as he gulped more beer and closed the fridge.

"Why are you drinking?" she asked. Dante looked at her.

"I'm thirsty," he answered.

"But that's beer you're drinking," the little girl said as if she just witnessed something disgusting. "Isn't that bad?"

Dante chuckled at her. "I'm old enough to drink. You don't have to when you grow up. It's your choice."

"But you don't look old," Nelly snapped. "You just have white hair."

He sat back on the table, setting the beer bottle on it. He grimaced and said, "Isn't nineteen old enough?"

Nelly frowned at him. Her eyebrows kept twitching. It was as if she was thinking of a better way to win this argument against a nineteen-year-old boy. "Andrew's fifty. He's old. You're not old. You're a teenager."

Dante found himself laughing. This girl knew how to make the adults forget about their problems. He hid the beer, putting it on the floor. He regarded her for a few seconds before saying, "I won't drink now. You're not angry anymore?"

Nelly pushed the pizza box from her. She squinted at him suspiciously, her eyebrows still twitching. "No. I think so."

"You think so?"

She tilted her head to the side as she continued to stare at him.

"Is your hair fluffy? Nero's hair is very fluffy."

Dante touched his own hair and felt. "I guess so."

"Can I touch it?"

"Sure."

Nelly strode away from her chair and approached him, standing in front of him with her wild blond hair covering her face. She reached out and began stroking his.

"So?" Dante asked.

"It's very fluffy," she said, smiling brightly. "I like it." She pulled away from him. She seemed to notice his bandaged hands for she took them into her small palms. "What happened to them?"

"We fought monsters," Dante said. "I was protecting Hwang and fighting them. They got my hands."

"Are they going to heal?"

"It will. If I rest it in a few days, it should be fine."

Nelly just observed his hands. She poked his fingers and began massaging them bit by bit. Dante hadn't noticed he was smiling all this time. He admired how the kid seemed so unaffected by what was truly happening around her. He wondered how the world was in her eyes, and how scared she was, and how on earth she got herself involved with all this. Thinking how she seems to brighten the group up, however, Dante figured it was not so bad having a child with them: she was a constant reminder of what this group had been fighting for. She will always remind them that they still had a world to save and that they shouldn't give up on what they started.

"Nelly?" Dante began. "You haven't seen Hwang, have you?"

The little girl nodded.

"She went outside earlier. But I dunno where she went. She looked so sad. She was ignoring everyone but she talked to me. She offered me her hot chocolate. She's so lonely but she was so nice to me."

Dante smiled bitterly. Of course she was sad. Witnessing the one you love turn against you and making you kill him no matter how dead he appeared wouldn't make you move on right away.

He pulled his hand and ruffled Nelly's messy hair.

"Thanks, kiddo. If you don't mind, I'm gonna look for her, okay?"

She nodded again. "Okay. Please try to make her happy. I feel sorry when she looks like that. I know she misses Arwin. I miss him too. He was a really good guy."

Dante stared at her. She backed away and mumbled, "I'm gonna check on Nero. 'Bye." She headed to the living room and disappeared, leaving him gazing after her.

He sat there for a few minutes more, draining his beer. He consumed one more slice of pizza, finally standing from his chair and making his way to the living room as well. He spotted Dave lying on the couch, playing with a baseball, throwing it up and catching it with his hands. Kat was on an armchair facing the fireplace and reading.

"Where's Andrew?" Dante asked, startling both of them. Dave sat on the couch.

"He's just gone upstairs," he replied. "His office or Nero's room, I think."

"You going somewhere?" Kat asked.

Dante was already at the door when he turned back to them. "Yeah," he said. "Haven't you guys seen where Hwang went?"

The two exchanged glances. "Nope," Dave said, looking back at him. "She's pro'lly on the training ground."

"She didn't seem to be wearing training gear or carrying weapons," Kat said. "But I think she muttered something about a lake."

Dave leaned back on his seat. "Could be. But . . . ," he set the baseball on his lap, saying, "it's been ages since she went over that place."

Dante stared at them. "Thanks, I guess. I'll go check both. Mind telling me where they are?"

"You just go straight ahead, both of 'em," Dave told him. "Training ground's closer. It'll be another clearing, just smaller."

Opening the door, Dante gave them a nod. He stepped out on the clearing, glaring around as the sun shone brightly down on him. He saw Charlie walking toward him with Lucia's crossbow on his shoulder and a string of dead rabbits on the other.

"Somewhere you gotta be?" he asked.

Dante motioned nonchalantly ahead. "Looking for Hwang." He glanced at the rabbits, feeling sorry for the poor creatures. "That for dinner?"

"Yeah. We're a bit short on food. Just got lucky last night on the pizza and bacon."

"Were you guys looking for a cure? For Nero?"

Charlie shrugged. "Yeah. Same result as usual. Haven't found anythin'." He strode towards the cabin.

"You think there's a cure?" Dante called out. The man stopped, looking at him with his hand over his eyes, the sun stinging him.

"I ain't gonna lie to you, pal," he called back. "I think there's none. But I can't give up on that kid either." With that, he turned his back on him and went inside the cabin.

Dante looked around. In front of him, Dave's and Charlie's cars were parked along with Raia's pick-up truck. All of the vehicles have experienced the tests of time, though Raia's were even older. Dents had made their mark in the cargo of the truck, and scratches covered a lot of its sides. Dante assumed the girl had not taken the time to even wash the vehicle.

He began his pace toward the trees, keeping in mind to move straight ahead, ignoring squirrels as they scurried everywhere. The sun was not so bright here anymore although its rays filtered through the leaves, and Dante was grateful for the light. He might've confused himself with the path had he not seen where he was going.

He wondered once again what Raia could be doing. She sure made it clear everyone left her for the time being. Dante figured he ought to leave her and just simply mind his own business but he could not help it. He wanted to know how she was, what she was thinking and how she could be dealing with her current situation. He also wanted to punish himself into thinking that she might attempt to take her own life now, although he was not dismissing that possibility. She was so used to keeping to herself it was somehow frightening, how she was handling her emotions. She may not know or show it, but Dante believed she needed someone to be there for her. Yesterday showed a lot of that. She was hiding too much it could kill her.

 _How the hell is she even handling all of them without going crazy?_ he thought.

He stepped into another forest clearing which was way smaller than that of the cabin's. A trunk stood in the very middle of the ground and was full of scars. Dante figured it was used as target practice for the throwing knives. It didn't matter. Raia wasn't here. He had no time to gawk at the area.

He continued walking, this time a little quicker than his lazy strolling pace, disturbing the small birds that have gathered on the forest floor and were pecking fallen leaves. He passed by another wave of trees which were thicker this time. Branches were catching his sleeves: he had to carefully pull away from them to avoid tearing the shirt. He began to duck now as more branches kept on picking at his shirt, noting the cold wind blowing at his face.

For minutes of evading branches, Dante finally found himself standing in front of a lake. The trees stretched out widely in an enormous circle, trapping it within. The light made the waters sparkle in an enchanting way. He was prompted to stare and admire the view, finding it relaxing and calming.

If everything was always just like this. No war, no demons, no dead people, no Vergil wanting to take the throne. Just this.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Dante turned to the source of the voice. Raia was storming toward him with an angry look on her makeup-less face. She was wearing a pink sweatshirt and tight-fitting jeans, her rubber shoed-feet kicking small rocks from her direction.

When she was closer, Dante saw that she looked younger without her makeup. She was as beautiful as ever despite her red and puffy eyes. Her full lips were so pink he had to resist the temptation of touching them with his fingers.

"What the hell are _you_ doing here?" she repeated, her tone furious. "I think I made it apparent that I wanted to spend time with myself."

Dante only stared. He had already prepared a mental thirty-page explanation to her although now that he was here, he completely forgot what it was he had to say. The sparkling lake gave an effect on Raia and it made him confused and somewhat stupid.

The girl looked like a goddess weeping by her precious lake.

"I came here armored, demon boy," Raia snarled, pulling out her silver dagger and pointing it to his chest. "Leave. Me. Alone."

"I . . . ," Dante spluttered.

The girl's knuckles whitened as her hand tightened on her weapon.

"Okay, what is it with _'_ _leave me alone'_ that is so hard to understand? Do I have to cut off your bandaged hands to make you turn back? Or"—the blade went downward and stopped somewhere in between his legs—"this one? Should I also cut this friend of yours off?"

Dante was suddenly backing away from her, an indignant look crossing his face.

"Jesus—" he spat, breathing out as though he'd run for miles. "Don't— You can't just— Not my fucking dick—"

"Then go ahead and return to the cabin if you don't want your fucking dick taken from you!" Raia shouted at him. "I want to be alone! Is that English enough for you? I don't remember talking to you in another language!"

"What the hell is the matter with you?" Dante shouted back. "You're upsetting everyone—"

Raia threw her head back and gave a loud, very unladylike cackle.

"News flash, son of Sparda! I am upset!"

Dante glared at her. He was ready to take back his word that she has not gone crazy.

 _This woman is fucking insane,_ he thought.

"Nelly is worried about you, Hwang!" he yelled. Raia had not heard him.

"Did you know? I've been upset for a year! Hell, I've been fucking depressed for a fucking year, son of Sparda! If you have no idea at all, why don't you go on ahead and ask Dave? I'm so sure he'd be happy to tell you the details— Oh, and don't forget to ask Andrew! Arwin's always been telling him everything about us, I bet he knows how we broke up—"

"Hwang—"

"It was a dramatic night, really, haven't I told you yet? Arwin totally dumped me because he thought I was cheating on him with another guy, which, if you don't know, was your twin brother! He broke up with me because he thought I was sleeping with Vergil!"

Dante stopped trying to calm her down. Raia was still shouting nonsensical words when he stood there staring at her. The girl, still spouting her story, paused. She shut up there and blinked several times, seeming to realize what she was saying.

"You were _what_ with Vergil?" Dante managed to say.

Raia was slowly stepping backward. She shook her head.

"No—forget I said that—" she turned her back on him.

"You don't get to turn your back on me, Hwang!" Dante went after her and unceremoniously forced her to face him. "What was up with you and my brother? What was that about?"

"It's none of your damn business," Raia whispered, avoiding his eyes. She glowered at his feet, shaking. "Just . . . leave."

"I'm not leaving," Dante said fiercely. "Not until you tell me what happened between you guys."

The girl did not speak. His patience was gone.

"Did he do anything to you? Why can't you tell me? Why did Arwin break up with you? For Pete's sake, Hwang, talk to me before I—"

"Before you what?" Raia looked up at him. "Before you hurt me? Before you force me to do something I don't want to? Go fucking right ahead! It doesn't matter! The way you talk now—you're just like him! You're just like Vergil!"

"I love my brother but I'm not anything like him," Dante snapped. "I'm not going to hurt you. Just tell me what—"

Raia smiled wickedly at him. "No, demon boy. I'm not telling you anything." With an unexpected strength, she pushed him away. Dante skidded back a few feet from her, later finding his footing.

"Hwang—"

"You're all the same," she muttered. Tears now fell from her eyes. "You're all the fucking same. I didn't do anything wrong," she sobbed, running away, back to the trees, in the cabin's direction.

Dante was outraged. Even he himself was shaking violently. He bit his lip, kicking a rock away in fury. He bent to pick up another one and threw it with all his might on the lake. He was not sure if he still wanted to follow her.

* * *

Thunderclaps rang throughout Limbo City. Dust and whatnot were blown in the cold wind, down the streets that were empty of people but were filled with demons, everywhere, and blood. On the walls, on the ground, on dead bodies, on lamps. There was no human that could be seen, except for corpses that were scattered on every part of the city. They were already rotting and stinking so bad it was a wonder how the demons could not smell them. The survivors could possibly be hiding in their homes, locking themselves inside, barricading them, taking the underground, taking their basements for cover, but these people won't hold long in those tiny spaces that cannot provide for all their needs. Anytime soon, one or two, or a group, would come out of their hideout and look for something they could take with them to survive. They could even try staying in some of the places they think would be safe. Or maybe they wouldn't dare? Demons, after all, were walking around the city, making sure they would not leave a human breathing. They had to realize that for them to survive, they're going to have to accept him as their King. If they do that, then it wouldn't have to be so hard for them.

If only one of those foolish people in the crowd did not insult him, he would have left them off to mind their own business, for it was a sign that they accepted him. But no; someone did not want to serve anyone, then more and more of the earthlings began to protest as well, saying that he was crazy, insane, mad. So what to do when the mice weren't nice?

Bring out the cats. Let them hunt, let them pick, let them take care of their food and even play with it. Freedom was such a huge thing to let it all go to waste. And besides, the humans will be out of his care, soon.

Vergil looked over the city from the topmost floor of the Silver Sacks Tower. He smiled.

It had been a year. He was growing tired of hiding back in the ruins of The Enlightenment's very first headquarters while waiting for the perfect time to attack. The power of his hollow self was more than enough for healing him and regaining his strength. He was almighty. He was strong. He was powerful.

He had authority.

And yet . . . they were never going to be enough.

He still needed more power: Yes, he conquered Limbo City, could do anything he wanted here, although he could not claim the world yet for there was something missing as of this moment, and he could not wait to get his hands on it. It will take a few more days, or weeks, probably months. Nevertheless, his patience was not getting any longer.

And that does not end there.

He also needed a plan.

A plan so as to avoid confronting other disturbances—after all, he wanted to face Dante when there were no more people around to help him. He wanted him to know pain, an excruciating pain. Both of them had suffered betrayal and loneliness, but Vergil had greater part in this madness. He had been betrayed by his own brother, by Dante, whom he thought would praise him for what he was trying to do, but obviously, that traitor for a brother had seen otherwise. He trusted him, trusted his power, their companionship—but then, Dante had been blind because of his sympathy with the pathetic little humans. He was their pet. He was supposed to be superior. They were supposed to be superior.

They were above humans.

But no, Dante had been an idiot, too stupid to realize what he can do. All that Vergil worked hard for had been for nothing.

There was also the matter with The Enlightenment. With Arwin's death, they surely have gone to him now and have fought the boy's corpse. Vergil sensed the ruckus back at Paradise. The group and his brother have definitely done some inspecting there. He wondered if Raia and Andrew had been there. Raia loved Arwin with her life. Andrew saw the boy as a son after losing his own when Mundus attacked them that night, before the previous King went off to kill the twins' parents. Surely it more than broke them to see their precious warrior and family member in such a fate.

He smirked. How he longed to see their faces right this time. He wanted to see how ruined they are. But he will. Soon.

For now, he will take his revenge, slowly, step by step, making sure to inflict the deepest pain. He will never fail again, never.

He admired the disastrous view below him.

"Dear brother," he said. He chuckled. "Where are you when the world needs you?"

* * *

Dante shut the door. The ones gathered in the living room were Nero, Nelly, Andrew, Dave and Kat. Nelly was playing with Dave, throwing the same baseball at each other. Kat was still reading and was almost finished with her book. Nero and Andrew were both having a heated and whispered discussion.

"It's okay," Nero was saying. "If I don't get back to normal—which I probably never will be again—please, just find her and save her—"

"No," Andrew hissed at him. "It'll be a few months more before you fully turn. We'll find that cure—"

Nero leaned back at the couch and stared at the fireplace. "I'm not getting my hopes up."

Andrew looked at him with the saddest expression wearing down his old face.

Dante walked up to them and tapped the man's shoulder.

"Can we talk?" he said.

"Of course," the other said. Both of them went to the kitchen, Dante leading the way. They stopped at the table, sitting.

"What is this about?" Andrew said in his clear voice.

Dante looked at him then away. He wasn't sure where to start. He didn't even know if he should ask him about this. It was too personal he doubted even Arwin Dunn would mention it to him.

"This is stupid," he muttered furiously, standing back up. "I'm sorry, Andrew, it's not important—"

"No, you can ask me anything, Dante," Andrew said, getting to his feet as well and pulling him back. "What's the matter?"

The young man hesitated. He sighed, saying, "Did Arwin ever tell you how he and his girlfriend split?"

Andrew was taken aback at this. He withdrew his arm and considered.

"Oh," he said. "Hmm. I don't— Forgive me, Dante. He never did. He's always told me anything, even those days when he was just still admiring her from afar. I never imagined he would really fall for the girl. Mostly he has no time for things like that; it'd be Dave wasting his hours running after girls." He smiled at the memory. "But when it happened . . . no. He even pretended Raia was invisible whenever she was around."

Dante was silent. He mulled over his words. He needed to talk to the girl.

"Why are you asking me this?" Andrew said.

He grimaced. "Nothing. Just . . . just curious, I guess."

The man gazed at him for moments before saying, "Arwin did not deserve any of this. So does Raia." He lowered his head and shook it sadly.

"No, they don't," Dante acquiesced.

Andrew glanced at him and patted his shoulder.

"Still. I am grateful for you helping us. I promise we will help you in return." With that, he turned and walked away from the room.

Dante grunted. He crossed the kitchen back to the living room then the stairs. He stopped in front of a door and knocked several times.

There was a murmur of cursing from inside as it opened, revealing Raia as she glared at him, surprised. She began to shut the door at his face although Dante pushed it back, gathering all his strength there. The girl soon gave up, hissing like a cat. With her deadliest glare she let the boy in and slammed the door shut. The sound reverberated through the walls before echoing to a stop.

"You may want to rethink your forced entry here," she hissed. "I'm tempted to use you for target practice."

"Try me," Dante snapped sarcastically at her. "You have a shit ton of explaining to do here."

"And why on earth should I explain myself to you?"

"How about we start on your thing with Vergil?"

Raia clenched her fists. "Vergil and I were not a thing. We never had a relationship."

"Tell that to your ex," Dante snapped back. He knew he was being harsh, but all the care in the world left him already. He wanted to know the truth from her. He was done being kept in the dark.

Raia did not seem affected either. She still looked at him as if she wanted nothing but strangle him on the floor.

"I just want to know what my brother did," he continued. "You owe me that. I have to know."

"What I owe you is my past, the one I can't remember," the girl reminded him. "Other stuff don't matter. It's mine to think about."

"Really? You seem like you need someone to consult."

"Why are you always interfering with my life?" she snapped at him. "What do you even care about me?"

"I care about what my brother did," Dante said. "I'm not gonna stop if you don't talk."

"Get out of my room!"

"You gotta do better than that, princess. Speak. _Now._ "

"And if I don't?"

"I'd rather not think about that."

"I'm so scared," Raia fired back at him. "You're just giving me a reason to unman you. Get the fuck out of my room."

Dante crossed his arms. "No."

"Go to hell."

"I already did. They kicked me out."

Raia stared. Her determined expression was wavering now. She threw him one more venomous glare before shooting herself down on her bed. She glowered at the wall opposite her.

Dante sat next to her, also glowering at the wall.

"Here goes nothing," she said. "You may want to grab a box of tissues here."

"I'm good, thanks."

Raia scowled. "Whatever." She took a deep breath.

"I'm just going to summarize it all up. The details suck anyway." She pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "We were losing a few members during Mundus era. There was distrust running within the group, and still, Andrew wanted to keep an eye on Vergil. There was talk that he already found a trace of you and was going after you. It was a race against demons. It was just a couple days before he's finally found you and made Kat to come and get you.

"It was our time of duty, Arwin and I. We managed to find you too. You were there in Devil's Dalliance, that nightclub Lilith owned. That happened before that Hunter demon chased you down. We wanted to help you, but . . . Vergil's been keeping us busy. He's sending a false trail of demons on us. That's why we were unable to keep track of you.

"With all the mess happening within the group, it affected Arwin and me. We've been fighting a lot. There was one night when we had this really bad argument and I accidentally told him that he was being an asshole, and a whole lot more. I've said the most offensive stuff. And he was getting edgy because of Dave. He was suffering an emotional trauma when that girl he dated abandoned him because of him being a demon hunter. She called him an absolute freakshow. She got attacked by a demon and he protected her, but that ungrateful bitch left him. As a friend, I was there for Dave. Apparently I spent too much time with him to make Arwin jealous. He didn't like that I was even closer to Dave than I was with him. But he was being a jerk.

"I was so distraught that I was tempted to drink too. I was drunk, but I was aware of what was happening around me, although it was a surprise when Vergil suddenly appeared at my side and bought me more drinks. He knew we were stalking him, but he ignored my part. He said I seemed too sad. And then, there was I, babbling it all away, telling him what has been happening to me. He had been nice to me. That meeting wasn't the last."

She paused there, trying to catch her breathing. Dante gave her a look of concern, although she smiled it away.

"And no, we weren't sleeping together, if that's what you think. But we met every night on the same place, same stool, same drinks. Arwin caught me once. We had another argument that day that I didn't even care if he was angry. I had no idea it would be the last time we'd be together." Raia shuddered. "Vergil, he . . . he spiked my drink after Arwin left. I had no idea. I woke up the next day on a bed with him. I don't know what happened, but I wasn't wearing my clothes. He wasn't too." Her eyes began to water. "I-I"—she looked at him, her lower lip quivering—"I think we had sex. I can't remember."

Dante's heart caught in his throat. His chest constricted tightly. He absentmindedly took her hand in his and said, "You can stop. Don't tell anymore if you have to."

"An hour before that, Vergil called Arwin," Raia continued as if he had not interrupted her. "Said it was an emergency. Said I was in danger. That I was being tended to in a motel. Arwin's been given an address, so he stormed right there, thinking that I was not okay, that I was hurt. But then what he saw—" Raia's voice cracked. "He said I was having too much fun. He said one night with Vergil and it was all gone. Vergil did that on purpose. He did that to make us stop spying on him—I tried to get back with Arwin, but he doesn't want to anymore, and besides, my secrets somehow held me back—"

"Raia, stop," Dante said through gritted teeth. He pulled the girl to him and wrapped an arm around her. She leaned her head against his shoulder, shivering. She was not sobbing but he could tell more tears gushed down her face.

Dante glared across the room, at the window. The sun had already set.

For the first time in his life, he badly wanted to find his brother and kill him on the spot. Before had been an accident. He wasn't so sure now if he'd want Kat to be there to stop him.


	10. 08 - Woebegone

EIGHT

 **Woebegone**

 **The footsteps were getting louder.** Vergil turned away from his table after a while of thinking: He had been standing for hours upon hours just in front of his desk, thought after thought running endlessly in his mind. His eyes ran over to the shadows covering the door of the room and the dark figure looming feet away from him. He could not see his face for the darkness obscured it, but he already knew who it was. He fought back a scowl. He wouldn't have been able to conquer Limbo City without the help of this man, although he had to admit he did not want to owe anyone anything.

"I see you're busy fussing over there, Your Highness," the figure spoke, his voice calm and collected. "Do you need anything?"

Vergil eyed the marble floor of the office. He spun slowly to face the man, answering calmly,

"None, for now. I'm merely thinking of a new way to get The Enlightenment and my brother out of hiding."

"And?"

"I remember having an old friend whom I wish to visit," he answered, walking by his desk's side, leaning against it. "He's still pretty much alive and I believe he needs to see a familiar face. Not that I look that familiar now, however."

The figure chuckled. "This friend. Do you think he'll be glad to see you?"

Vergil's pale lips thinned to a smile. "Very."

The figure moved toward him, the dim light of the room revealing his features. He had slick black hair that was combed back from his forehead. He was wearing an unbuttoned suit underneath a white shirt. His hands were inside his pockets and his shiny black shoes tapped smartly on the floor. He smirked, his left eye empty of a pupil. It was as if it suffered cataract, although Vergil knew it was simply how that eye looked.

"And what about that mysterious barrier we've been trying to rid ourselves of?" the demon said. "You know how it can't be removed."

The King was disgruntled. He looked over the window, down at the city where demons roamed. Even from this spot, he could see a group of Harpies doing a tug-of-war on a corpse of an unknown man.

"I will try getting through with _it_ ," he spoke, emphasizing the last word with a glance at the demon who raised his eyebrows.

"We cannot completely destroy that barrier through it, but I believe it is weaker there. It will take most of my strength to do that, but the venture should be worth the risk. I will be able to replenish my energy in due time," Vergil said, moving away from his desk. "I'd like you to keep an eye on things here. You know that only I could pass through that barrier. No other demon would be able to do that. Even you."

The demon's face contorted into annoyance but it disappeared as quickly as it had come. He forced a grin and said, "Of course, sire."

Vergil considered him over his shoulder. "How is the task I gave you? Will it have to take even longer?"

"It will, my lord. If you truly want to get this over with, you are going to have to keep waiting. But if you can't, then I suppose it is all right if you go ahead to your friend to lure your brother out. I must say that you are really trying to avoid making mistakes here."

"Your task is mostly a fail-safe operation in case I don't get to rid myself of my brother in time. Luring him out, however . . . it is quite fun. I want to see how he and those foolish people are doing at the moment. I'd like to drain all the hope from them, little by little."

The demon sneered. "I see that Your Majesty enjoys the pain he's causing."

Vergil whipped at him with an irritated glare.

"Of course I do," he hissed. "These people—mostly Dante and Andrew—they are traitors. And whoever takes their side will be unfortunate. I'll make sure they have nowhere to run. I'll make sure they will suffer more than I ever did. Arwin Dunn is one perfect example."

"This—impulsive young man you're referring to—was it true he was one of your closest friends?"

The King turned his back on him.

"Was. It's a terrible waste. Arwin made a fine warrior." He crossed his arms. "He made the wrong choice when he took Andrew's side. He paid the price." His tone was final. He did not say any more. The demon understood that it was his cue to leave. With a bow to the King, he swept from the room, leaving behind a haunting silence.

* * *

Kat pulled her hood over her head, her nerves tingling. She looked over the car where three soldiers were patrolling the perimeter. She glanced back to Dante who thumped her on the back.

"You sure you're okay with this?" he asked her. She nodded.

"Yeah. It's not like I have to do anything big," she said. "And in case you haven't known, I'm quite good with acting."

He snorted. "Whatever. Go out there and get us an Oscar."

She fought back a laugh. "Yes, sir," she said, giving him a salute. She tiptoed out of the car, seeing Dave and Charlie waiting by another car to their right. Dave grinned at her and gave a thumbs-up. She smiled at him, lastly checking her arms and hands. It was the first time she'd removed her henna tattoos and she wasn't comfortable not seeing them there, most especially that she'd put a lot of red liquid all over her arms. She hoped they passed as blood. She peered over a side mirror to see if the fake scars on her neck looked convincing. She then turned to her slender legs, telling herself that the bruises seemed real enough.

The soldier nearest her was leaning against a Humvee. The other two were strolling lazily around the barrier that still imprisoned Limbo City. Ever since that day, the US military had posted patrols throughout the entire city. Helicopters also littered the skies, intrigued at the gigantic pentacle that hovered above the place. Even more interesting was the Silver Sacks's tower rising undauntedly in the middle of the star. It was as if the grand structure was not even affected by all the commotion occurring around it.

Kat stopped feet from the Humvee. She threw herself on the ground, screwing up her face to show that she was in pain.

 _"_ _Help!"_ she cried, sobbing. She wrapped her arms around herself, crying in agony. "Help, please!"

The soldiers abruptly turned to her. The one leaning on the Humvee was suddenly upon her and was trying to help her up.

"What happened to you?" he demanded to her as the other two stopped in front of them.

Kat howled in pain. Tears fell down her face as she wailed.

"Please—they're trying to kill me—"

"Ma'am, tell us what happened to you— Call for the medic!" he yelled at the soldier on his left.

"Demons— Demons were just here, they attacked me—" Kat sobbed.

The third soldier grabbed a small two-way radio and spoke.

"This is Alpha. There are demons within the area. We're calling for backup. I repeat, demons are within the area— _What the—_ "

It was too fast to register. Dante, Dave and Charlie were already strangling the three soldiers, lulling them to sleep. When all three of them lay on the ground motionless, Kat got up to her feet and began pulling out objects from the backpack Dave handed her.

"How did I do?" she asked him as he stood watching her.

He was laughing now. "Fantastic."

"You kidding me?" Dante called out to them. "You need more practice."

Kat scowled but giggled. "You're not just as good as I am!"

Dante rolled his eyes and helped Charlie move the soldiers next to the line of cars far away from them. Charlie took the radio from the third one.

"Alpha. It was a false alarm. Some random civilian tried messin' around," he told the radio. There was static and an answering voice.

"This is Bravo. Are you sure?"

"Yes." Charlie stuffed the radio back in the soldier's pockets as the voice said "Roger that."

"Come on," Charlie said to the others, his loud Southern accent ringing in the air. "I don't think I convinced 'em enough. We got five minutes before another chopper goes back to do more rounds."

"I'm on it," Kat said, inspecting the bottle of oil she took from the backpack. She set it on the ground and fumbled in her pockets. "Darn. I forgot to bring my lighter."

"Here." Dave took one from his jacket and tossed it to her. "Is this going to work?"

"I don't know," Kat mumbled. "I don't think it will. But there's no harm if we try." She pulled out a roll of paper from her pack and unrolled it, setting it on her lap. A circular rune was drawn on it with other details sketched on the corners. "I know for sure that a witch created this barrier. I think I have an idea how it was made, but it's impossible to reverse the spell. Whoever conjured it should be the one to destroy it too."

Dave whistled. "Wonder whoever that witch was. I wanna say she saved our skins, with all those demons piled back in the city. The problem is that we need to get back there and figure out what's going on."

"I hear you," Kat agreed. She stood up when Dante and Charlie approached them and were done surveying around. She handed Charlie the roll of paper then went up to the barrier, feeling the heat that emitted from it. She peered and saw how ruined the city was from within. Her heart clenched. All those people back there . . . what could have happened to them?

Kat opened the bottle of oil and began spraying a certain portion of the barrier with it. When it was empty, she threw the bottle aside and ran back to her companions who jogged feet from the barrier. She did one more sweep of the cars behind them, seeing to it that the unconscious soldiers were well away from the blocked city. She then nodded to Charlie who prepped up Lucia's crossbow, the paper sticking to the bolt. Kat lit the paper with Dave's lighter, and in a matter of seconds, Charlie shot at the barrier were the oil was splattered.

The flames roared then spread into lines, forming an enormous cross. The paper dissolved within the translucent barrier. They waited.

 _BOOM._

An explosion rang out, making the cars nearby fly away, landing on the others that were piled up on the bridge. The four of them shielded their eyes against the bright light as the cross exploded a couple more times.

It took minutes before it all stopped. Smoke covered the city which was slowly dissipating. Kat squinted her eyes to get a better look at the barrier.

"Look at that fuck," Dante muttered next to her.

There it was, standing still as if it was not harassed at all. It still shone uncaringly at them and there was not even a single crack that traced its walls.

"I'm ready to hear an _'_ _I told you so'_ ," Charlie sighed.

Kat didn't say anything. All of them turned back from the city as the sound of helicopters echoed throughout the area.

They talked about this. Kat knew none of this was going to work, but the restlessness from the group affected her. With the recent events of Paradise still fresh from the four who went there, she wanted to do something useful, something that would help them get rid of the barrier on Limbo City, or at least open an entrance to avoid the downpour of demons. They spent the last two days arguing Vergil's current location, and all they could point out was the Silver Sacks Tower. There was no point in hiding now, if they thought about it. If it was indeed Vergil and he was too powerful, there was no reason for him to hide; it was The Enlightenment who should and they were definitely right there doing just that, trying hard to remain undetected. And for the location, the Tower was the only plausible place for the new king to reside. The Hell Gate was still there, revived or not. It's also the only place where demons would feel most secure.

Kat looked at Dave who was gazing up ahead in the direction of his Toyota Yaris. It was parked at the far end of the bridge.

"You all right?" she asked him.

"Yup," he said. "You?"

She gave him a shrug. "I guess so. You have to admit that all of us are barely hanging in there, though."

"You betcha."

They halted by Dave's car. They all put back their weapons inside the trunk along with Kat's backpack.

"What're we gonna tell them back at the cabin?" Dave said.

"I think they're expectin' what went on just now," Charlie said, leaning on the car. "They didn't look excited."

Kat leaned in next to them, pulling out a towel and wiping at her face, neck and arms. She spotted Dante staring at the city and seemed to be thinking deeply. She moved away from the car and approached him.

"Hey," she called. "Anything disturbing?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. Just . . . I dunno. You can say that."

"We'll find another way to get that barrier down."

"No, it's not that," Dante said, grimacing. He moved to the direction of the car.

"Raia?" Kat supplied, following him. His brows knitted at her. " _Please._ You've been looking for her the other day and when you came back we heard you guys yelling. Then it seemed fine. Yesterday I haven't seen you much."

Dante scratched his head.

"It's not my place to judge," she told him. "She lost someone but they split for almost two years. If she makes you happy and you make her happy—"

He gaped at her. "What are you talking about?"

"What? You two seem tight."

"We're not hanging out. Not like that. I just sneaked up on her on the training ground yesterday. She's been letting out steam."

Kat stuffed half her towel back in her pocket, the other half dancing down her legs. She gave him a mischievous smile. She shouldered him lightly and said, "But you guys . . . ever since you met, it's as if there was something going on. Kinda feels like another clichéd romance movie."

"Seriously, Kat?" Dante simpered at her.

"I've been stuck reading books and chatting around with Dave, but I'm not blind or deaf. I've noticed it. If you haven't realized that, I did. And for your information, you guys look cute together."

"Really? So what about _you_ and Dave?"

Kat slapped his arm, laughing. "Don't use that on me, Dante. You're trying to change the subject."

"Maybe I am," Dante sneered.

"Well, Dave is nice. But . . ."

"But . . . ?"

Kat only looked at him. She couldn't finish.

Dante knew it, however.

"Vergil?"

She nodded. He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed.

"Look, I know it's hard for you. With all this shit happening, I just know. Maybe I can't imagine how it must be for you, but he's my brother. It's torturing me too."

Kat forced a smile. "It's crazy, right? I admit, I like Dave. He's sweet and all, but I just don't think it's going to work. I can't stop thinking about Vergil. I try, but I can't. There are times when I just hope he'll come back. But if he did, what would it do to me? He never really saw me. He saved my life, but there's nothing beyond that."

Dante looked at her sadly. He shook his head and muttered, "I'm sorry, Kat."

"Me too."

"And to be fair, Hwang and I . . . ," Dante went on, "There's no romance. I'm just helping her move on."

Kat noted his suspiciously hesitant tone. She held his hand which was still on her shoulder and squeezed it as well.

"But you like her too?"

Dante shrugged.

"Fair enough," she said, pulling away.

"Hey guys," Dave called out to them, approaching. He was holding a cell phone. "Andrew called. They got something."

"What's it about?" Kat said, stopping right before him, Dante tailing after her. Charlie was still leaning on the car, listening.

"You won't believe this," Dave said, the sound of astonishment evident in his voice. "They spotted Vergil."

* * *

 _Someone walked up to the door. The house was small and sturdy. The path was littered with leaves, and the walls outside were dirtied. The windows were imprinted with dust and had a few cracks. The wooden door had scratches. The structure clearly seemed abandoned, but the figure who was standing facing it did not appear to be having any other plans. He lifted a gloved hand and balled it up to knock, although he put it down, seeming to think better of it. He glanced sideways. He looked up to his left and smiled. He was wearing a homburg hat, covering his hair. His face was hard to distinguish, but it was easy to assume the man was incredibly good-looking, what with his good posture and height. There was also something dashing with the way he stood._

 _The man walked forward to where he was staring, tapping the floor with his cane, which, on closer inspection, was a katana sheathed in its scabbard. He was indeed handsome. But the smile he wore didn't quite match his gentle features._

 _"_ _Hello, Enzo," he said, his voice pleasant yet tainted with something that was hard to describe with mere words. "I know you're watching. I know you're hiding somewhere out there. And of course . . . you remember who I am. You may not have an idea what's been going on since The Enlightenment left the Washington headquarters. I'm here to share a story, only if you come out of your hiding place and face me. It's . . . let's say . . . extremely urgent._

 _"_ _I know for a fact that I am not the same person who confronted you years ago to confirm what happened_ that day. _But I am telling you now: Go out here and talk to me. You wouldn't want anything to happen to your family now, would you? I heard they're somewhere off in Illinois. It'd be a shame if you wasted the opportunity of conversing with me._

 _"_ _If you want to see Paula and your sons again . . ._ spicciati, signore. _I'll be waiting."_

 _Everything went dark._

* * *

Dante glared at the LED screen. He was forced to grab a chair and sit at the far end of the long table. He could not stop his hands from shaking. He could practically hear Vergil's voice echo in the bunker.

"It's really him," he said, heaving deep breaths, "My brother."

Andrew turned the monitor off. As soon as the others returned, they had not wasted any time in showing them the CCTV footage from Enzo Ferino's house. Enzo was their former informant who quit when the betrayals of the group started affecting him, and also because his wife Paula Rolli had divorced him. His family moved to Illinois to avoid him and The Enlightenment due to the unrelenting danger that befell them all. Paula could not handle the thought of her sons getting involved with anything related to demons, demon hunters, and worse, Enzo himself.

"There can't be another one," Raia said, leaning back on her chair by the other side of the table, her face pale. "That's definitely him. I'd recognize him anywhere."

Dante glanced at her. Their eyes met for a few seconds before they turned back to Andrew.

"That doesn't exactly say what he wants from Enzo," Dave muttered bleakly in his seat between Charlie and Raia. "And what's that shit about confirming 'what happened that day'?"

"Is no one going to wonder if Enzo is still breathing?" Lucia said, slipping into a chair beside Nero who was glowering stone-faced at the table. Andrew had found no reason now to keep him out of their meetings since it was the only way to make the boy forget about his 'illness' every once in a while. "That man is unlikeable in my opinion, but . . . he has to be safe."

"He's probably dead," Charlie said grimly. "He's not gonna stand a chance. He can't fight."

"And you guys are certain this footage came from Enzo?" Kat asked.

"Not really," Raia answered, her fingers rapidly typing something on her laptop. "I have no clue how he found us, but the video came from one of his e-mail addresses. And he can hack into anything. We're lucky if Vergil didn't try to pry in Enzo's computer to get our location. Both are damn good hackers. We can whip up fake addresses anytime we want, but it'll only be a matter of time before he finds us."

"He doesn't look like he wants to do any prying," Kat said. "He's intentionally trying to drag us out. He's not making any effort of finding us."

"We don't know that for sure," Raia said. "I say this is a trap. Maybe Enzo sent this to warn us. Or he could be asking for help. Or Vergil was the one who sent this. I'll go for the third."

"We can't just abandon him," Andrew said, sitting at the opposite end of the table. "I owe him."

"Andrew, I hate to say this but," Dave blurted out, "it's suicide. Hwang's right."

"He could be dead," Dante said. "We can't waste our time on this."

Andrew moved away from his chair and paced the room. Dave stood up from his seat, resting his hands on the table.

"Andrew, I know it's our job to help people. But we can't be heroes this time. Vergil might've killed Enzo. We owe the guy, sure. Our past missions wouldn't have been successful if it wasn't for him, but there's nothing we can do. There's only six of us now, plus Dante and Kat. We can't risk this."

The old man halted behind Nero.

"Enzo has done a lot for me," he said. "Let me think."

"Do you know anything about that stuff _he_ said?" Nero asked suddenly, the emphasis on 'he' hinting a bitter tone in his voice.

Andrew winced. "No."

Dante looked at him. The man had held himself very well the past few days. He cannot help but notice he seemed particularly disturbed and unsteady.

"You can tell us what you can, Andrew," he told him. "Maybe it'll change our minds about ignoring this guy. Specially me, and Kat. We don't know this man. We didn't know you guys until four days ago."

"We can't," Lucia contradicted him. "Familiar or not, we can't. If he winded up like—" She glanced at Raia who remained staring at her laptop.

"If Enzo winded up like Arwin, you mean," she finished. Lucia flinched and did not speak. "It was hell back at Paradise. I'm not risking my ass like that again."

"Chances of him being alive are nil," Dave said. "We can't consider this. _You_ are not considering this."

"I _know_ , Dave," Andrew said, his voice rising. "But what if he's alive? What if he survived?"

"Vergil still has him. This is what he wants. He wants us to go out there and get him. We can't do this. You know we can't."

"What if _this_ is what Vergil _wants_? He _wants_ us to abandon Enzo and make my friend realize we don't care about him so he'll go over to him and turn on us? We have to think this through—"

"Andrew, no— We just can't—"

"I am not sitting here and let him be used—"

"This is too dangerous! Look at it this way: What if Enzo did send that video, to _warn_ us? What if he's not asking for any help?"

"We don't know that for sure—"

"And we sure as hell don't even know if Vergil's going to let him live! Listen to me—"

"I can't, David. I can't."

"Andrew," Dante said. "I'm sorry to break this to you, but I'm with Dave. You're the only one who's ready to do this. I for one am not. And no offense, but you're the leader. You have to consider your group's safety first before anything else."

The man glared at him at the harshest way possible Dante found himself avoiding his eyes.

"Thank you, Dante," he said. "I remember being the leader. But I'm not a machine. I won't be able to rest until we are sure Enzo is dead, or alive." He looked around the room. "We can call off this meeting. I want to think. Anyone who still wants to question my position can do that later." He turned away from them all, exiting the room.

There was silence as the group looked at each other. Dave sat back on his chair and buried his face in his hands.

"I don't understand," Nero began. "I know it's Vergil. But why can't we help this guy?"

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "You just said why."

"No. What if it was someone else? Dave, Lucia? Wouldn't you have gone out of your way to save them?"

The adults exchanged another round of awkward glances.

"We would," Charlie said bluntly. "But now—"

"It should still be the same. What if it was Nelly?" Nero said defensively. "Didn't you people just risked your lives trying to retrieve a dead body?"

It was Raia who answered. "Arwin was my boyfriend—"

"And Enzo seems like a close friend of Andrew's," Nero countered. "He didn't tell you what he thought when you demanded right at his face to get Arwin's corpse. In fact, he wanted to help you. It was difficult for every single one of you, but you went anyway."

"It's a matter of life and death here, kiddo—" Charlie was about to say.

"Yeah, you tell me that," Nero hissed. He jumped up to his feet and slammed his hands on the table. "I'm dying here, remember?"

The others went silent.

"Dante and Raia almost died trying to find Arwin. Mind you, he's dead yet you went out there for him. You come back here empty-handed. I'm not telling you that you guys are failures. I want to make a point. If it was any one of you, I'm pretty sure Andrew would have gone out there to save you people. It's like telling me that you're giving up on what you've been fighting for."

"You are just a kid, Nero," Charlie told him. "You're too young to understand—"

"Yeah, maybe I am! That doesn't explain why Vergil's doing all this! That doesn't explain why he wants to rule this world. And to be honest with you, this guy's a goddamned idiot for wanting to do just that! None of this explain why you should abandon your jobs—"

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone turned to Dave. He had gotten up from his chair. He was breathing deeply and his face had gone red.

He looked at them all. Dante saw his gaze fall on Kat who was staring wide-eyed at him.

Dave shook his head.

" _Dammit,_ " he whispered to himself. He headed out of the room, calling out, "Let me talk to Andrew."

The others gazed after him as he disappeared.

"Wonderful," Charlie said sarcastically. "This is the best day ever."

"Charlie, stop," Lucia snapped at him. "Dave's trying."

"I can see that," he said. "Good thing he's there for I ain't ever gonna want to be the leader after Andrew."

"Dave's not signing up," Raia said. "He doesn't want to. He just wants us to focus."

Nero glowered again at the table.

"I can't believe you guys. You're being ridiculous."

"You just made Dave lose it, kid," Charlie said. "Congratulations."

"Charlie, don't do this to him," Kat hissed at him. "Nero, we should go," she said to the boy, patting her hands on his shoulder.

"I think I should," he scoffed. "This bunch removes your rights from making a point." Like Dave and Andrew, he stormed out of the bunker while shutting the door behind him carelessly.

"This is fuckin' stupid. That kid doesn't understand what he's sayin'," Charlie scowled.

Raia closed her laptop and massaged her forehead.

"I don't know anymore. We can't get ourselves into trouble we might never get away from. But Nero . . . what he said was a slap in the face."

"No way, Raia," Charlie said. "You're not sayin'—"

"I'm not saying we should help Enzo," she hissed. "But I'm not saying Nero is wrong either. Look at me. I wasted our precious time searching for my ex's corpse."

"That's different—"

"He's right," Dante said finally after the series of exchanges. The others turned to him with looks as if he had not been there. "There's no difference. Kat and I aren't acquainted with this Enzo. You guys, except Andrew, don't seem close. That's the one thing that gets in everyone's way."

"You didn't know Arwin too," Raia reminded him.

"Come on. You went after me to help you. I had no choice."

The girl did not say anything.

"The problem is that if he is dead and Vergil just set a trap on us. This is going to be another Paradise," Lucia said exasperatedly. "I'm not ready to risk this. Our main goal is to find your brother—"

"And my brother is looking for us too," Dante pointed out. "Heck, he's luring me out."

"You sayin' we hand you over to him?" Charlie scoffed. "If that's what you want, fine, but you can't involve us there—"

"Charlie, you're being a dick," Kat snarled at him. "You're going too far!"

The man glared at her.

"Haven't we all?" he snapped. "Jeez, everyone. I hope you're hearing what you're sayin'. If you hadn't received the memo, lemme get and read that for you. We were seven people last week, reduced to six. We got a dyin' kid. He's gonna turn into a demon, but that is as good as dyin'. You, Raia, you're not exactly in the best shape right now. Dave's crackin' up. We witnessed that. And you two?" He beckoned to Kat and Dante. "You're just two new strangers and you haven't been doin' good so far."

Kat scowled at him. "Excuse me?"

"Don't you get it?" Charlie said. "We can't afford another one dyin' on us! We can't help Enzo! I can't— I'm tired of seein' people die!"

"Charlie—" Lucia said, panicking. She went across the room to him and held his arms. "Stop. Okay? This is doing us no good."

Charlie pulled away from her. "Since when did this do us any good?"

Lucia turned to the other three.

"If you please," she told them. "I want to talk to him alone."

They did not need persuading. All of them went to the door in unison and climbed back up to the living room. Nelly was there standing in front of the fireplace, worried.

"Is everyone okay?" she asked. "I've been hearing yelling after Andrew went out the bunker."

Raia knelt before her.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. Everyone's having a tough time," she told her softly. She took her hands into hers, adding, "You want some ice cream? I think we still have some left in the fridge."

The little girl nodded.

"What about Davey? I never saw him that sad."

Raia's forced smile faded. Dante saw her eyes watering, but no tears fell from them. She hugged Nelly and whispered, "He's going to be all right, Nell. Everything's going to be all right."

"I think you'd better get the ice cream," Dante said. The girl released Nelly and looked up at him.

"We should," she said, standing up and leading her into the kitchen. She glanced over to him. He gave her a nod and the two went on ahead.

Kat elbowed him all of a sudden.

"What are you doing?" She sounded accusatory.

Dante stared. "What did I do?"

"I'm fine," Kat said. "Go after her. She needs to comfort Nelly. She needs you. She's not okay."

He sighed. "All right." He ruffled her head and went to the kitchen. He saw Raia already handing Nelly a bowl of chocolate ice cream. When she looked up to see him, she beamed. It was the most genuine smile he had ever seen from her. He could sense his cheeks warm up after the coldness of the bunker's air conditioner.

"Want some?" she asked as he sat beside Nelly.

"Please," he said. Raia handed another bowl to him and she took one for herself. They all sat in silence in the kitchen, eating ice cream as if it was the most normal Wednesday of their lives. It was easy for Nelly to forget what was going on as she happily consumed her food. Dante watched Raia as she observed the little girl, her frown creasing her forehead every now and then. Whatever it was she was pondering about didn't seem too positive.

When they were all finished, Raia took their bowls and washed them in the sink. Nelly had asked Dante about his drinking habits and he had received an awful sermon from her soon as he said he was still taking up the beer. The two grown-ups could not hold back their laughs as the child kept reprimanding Dante.

"They said drinking is bad!" Nelly squealed angrily. "You're doing bad stuff."

"I'm not drinking much anymore," Dante said. "If they take a lot, that's bad."

"Says you," Raia muttered but loud enough for him to hear. She was done rinsing the bowls and have wiped them dry. She set them back on the cupboard to her left and went back to her seat, watching the two argue.

"Whoa, is that really the time?" Dante said aloud. Nelly glanced around the wall clock and gasped.

"Nine? But—"

"It's time for bed, Nell," Raia told her. "We'll check up on Davey for you." She gave Dante a knowing look that said _I see what you did there_. The little girl glared at the clock as if it was its entire fault she was forced to go to her room. She got up to her feet and hugged Raia while giving Dante a threatening snort. She headed to the living room and vanished, leaving the two smirking.

"You are so mean," Raia hissed. "She was enjoying herself for being a mom on you."

Dante grinned. "I know. But isn't that what kids do? Go to bed early and be healthy and shit."

"There's that. It's kinda sad, though. It's fun whenever she's around."

"That kid's a damn sunshine here," he agreed.

"D'you think Dave and Andrew are done talking?" Raia asked. Dante felt suddenly gloomy and he wasn't so keen on going back to what had happened.

"With all this, I bet they're not done yet," he sighed. "Charlie and Lucia should still be up to it too." Remembering the last scene before they returned to the living room, he added, "Charlie . . . has he always been like that?"

"Sometimes," Raia replied, absentmindedly twirling her hair with her fingers. "He barely acted that way, but since everybody else had fights in the group (like Arwin and I had been fighting), he . . . It became a common thing for him. Then with last year being so damn uneventful, he frequently snapped. Lucia's always been there to try and calm him down. I think Andrew wanted him to be the leader after him since he was the oldest, but he could be pretty laidback at times, and there's his limited patience. So Andrew chose Arwin even though he was only twenty. But now that he's . . . gone . . . and Charlie doesn't want to take responsibility, Andrew doesn't know what to do. Dave's not asking for the position, and he's said he wouldn't want to. Although . . . he's the only one who can do it. Dave's soft and easily scared and is the worst on demonology class, but hell, he knows how to get the job done. And when all of us are going insane, he's the only person in this group who can handle himself perfectly. Except this evening though. Maybe what Nero said hit him hard."

"Times today aren't cuddly, it's not his fault," Dante said. "What about Lucia? She seems like Charlie's age."

"Guess," Raia said.

"It's not her dream job?"

"Yup. She's too busy being our medic. So that leaves us with Dave. They can't choose me, I'm only eighteen. And Dave is the man for the job."

"Huh," Dante said. "Charlie looks like he needs Lucia everywhere with him. And what's the deal with those two? It's like they have something going."

Raia leaned her chin in her hands. "They were more like just having fun at first. They could've gotten serious . . ."

"I could see that."

"They really don't show it to anyone. But with all the mess right now, maybe they hadn't noticed they're turning into something else. I'm just relieved they're not making noises every time they sleep together. I can hear the bed springs sometimes, but they're not too loud."

Dante chuckled at her. "You're listening to them while they're at it?"

"No, squirt," Raia snapped at him. "Charlie's room's next to mine. If one of them feels up to it, they always end up in his bedroom since Nelly's just beside Lucia's."

Dante simply let his mouth shut.

Raia studied him. He gulped.

"You shouldn't have done that," she mumbled.

"I shouldn't have done what?"

"Shoving Andrew's position down his throat. He's not forgetting that."

"Ah. That." Dante groaned. "I regretted that soon as the words came out. But he was being unreasonable. I forgot to stop myself. Paradise keeps getting back to me. I've been fighting demons all my life, but not like that. Not with corpses attacking me." His hands crossed together as he stared at them, his stomach squirming. "Not with getting reminded that my brother is behind all this."

Raia only looked into his eyes. He could see his face reflected in there. He could see how tired he looked.

He turned away.

"What if it came down with the two of us having to kill each other?" he whispered. "I would have died for him, but I can't anymore. Not now. He's the King of Demons." He did a sharp intake of breath. He gazed back to her and blurted out, "I don't know if I can kill him. I don't know if I could kill my brother."

"But you can't die," Raia told him. She immediately reached for him and took his hands, holding them tight. "I don't want you to die."

Dante's heartbeats skipped a couple times. He relaxed at her touch. He bent down and rested his head on their entwined fingers. Raia did not pull away.

* * *

Kat turned another page. It was the eleventh time she'd skipped a page without reading at all. She was so distracted she could not force herself to take in anything she had been looking at. It wasn't the first time this happened, although she never forgot to hate at this feeling. Reading was one of her very few escapes from reality, and right now she could not even make her mind wander anywhere because of the meeting for the past hour. Dante and Raia were still in the kitchen and she wondered what the two could be doing since Nelly left them. She did not want to barge in there to ruin their time. She knew Dante would want to be there for Raia for the girl was obviously not doing well.

Kat shifted in her seat on the couch.

Of course all of them were not doing well. Aside from giving the Nephilim boy his chance to cheer Raia up, Kat wanted an excuse to get away from people until she could talk to Dave. She could not stop worrying about him since his outburst. She could hardly even wait for him to finish this talk with Andrew; she was tempted to get there in his office to listen to whatever they could be talking about, although she was told by Nelly before she went upstairs that both men were not in the cabin. They walked out of the house to argue there instead.

Kat closed the book in her hands, gazing into the flames of the fireplace which was set back in its usual corner. Charlie and Lucia had left the bunker minutes ago and had gone to their bedrooms, both of them looking somber. Nero, Kat assumed, was probably in his room still fuming about being dismally treated during the meeting. She could not blame him: she would've agreed with him only if she was sure Enzo was still alive and needed to be saved. Dante had been right. They did not know who this man was. They needed enough reason to risk their necks for him. They had to be extremely careful now. Making hasty decisions without fully thinking it over was dangerous.

The front door swung open. Kat looked around and saw Andrew Cliffer heading toward the staircase looking both furious and offended. He had not noticed Kat as he clambered up the stairs, leaving the door open.

No one else went inside, but Kat can hear footsteps from the porch. She stood up and walked up to the threshold, throwing a glance to the corridor leading to the kitchen. She stepped out of the cabin, feeling the cool night air and seeing Dave leaning against the handrail. His back was turned on her.

"Dave?"

He span to her direction. Kat stared; Dave's eyes were red and he was already on the verge of tears.

"A-Are you okay . . . ?" she asked.

Dave nodded. "Y-Yeah," he stammered, facing the grounds and wiping his entire face with the back of his hand as Kat stood next to him and also leaned against the railing.

"What happened?" she asked again.

"Nothing important," he uttered awkwardly, avoiding her eyes. "I'm okay. You should get back and rest. It's getting late."

"Nothing important means you shouldn't be close to crying," Kat said sarcastically. "Dave, you're not all right."

The young man took a deep breath. "Look. I'm just trying to tell you to go away without being rude. I have to be alone."

"But you don't want to."

"Kat, I'm sorry, I can't do this right now," Dave said.

"I know you can't. That's why I'm here. If you don't want to talk about it, I'm not going to ask."

Dave looked at her. He was biting his lip as a tear fell down his cheek.

"I want to tell someone. I can't keep this. But Andrew told me to never inform anyone unless he's ready."

Kat felt something tug her insides. Seeing Dave like this—she could not bear it somehow.

"Dave—"

"I hate this. I can't do this—"

"Then just cry," Kat muttered. "Let it all out. You'll be okay." She inched closer to him and put her hand over his, squeezing it a bit. "I want to let you know that I'm not going to force it out of you if you can't talk about it." She looked up at him. "But I'm here, Dave. You can cry. You can blame anything. You can blame Andrew, you can blame me, you can blame everyone. But you can't go through this alone."

Dave stared. He looked so lost and scared and angry all at the same time. He wasn't the same guy who always smiled at her whenever he saw her. He was just . . . crushed.

"You'll stay with me?" he asked quietly.

"I'm not going anywhere till you're okay," Kat replied softly.

Dave slowly forced a small smile then.

"Thanks," he said, his hand flexing up to let his fingers intertwine with hers. His thumb caressed her knuckles. Kat gulped, her heart dancing wildly inside her chest. She had not felt this way since Vergil became distant and focused on looking for his brother. They did not exactly have a relationship, but she could just tell that he did not want to be involved with anyone. Everything he did, it was for the sake of finding Dante and it looked as if Vergil thought relationships only intervened with his work. He never bothered telling Kat how he felt.

"I'm sorry I can't tell you what just went on," Dave began.

"Don't worry about it."

"This is unfair. We'll all be forced into getting Enzo. If I had it my way, I'm not letting you guys blindly get yourselves in danger. This is too serious."

Kat frowned. "Andrew decided, then? There's no turning back?"

"He got some good points to persuade me. But I'm still against all this. This— It's Vergil we're talking about. If we suffer another death . . . I don't even know if I can handle it." Dave shook his head, glaring at the trees where the moon shone brightly. "God, I don't even know if we can survive this till the end. It feels like we're all going to die no matter what."

"Dave, just stop," Kat muttered fiercely. "This is why Dante and I are here. You called on us to help you guys. We are all doing everything we can."

She could feel Dave's hand tighten on hers.

"I just hope no one's going to die anytime soon."


	11. 09 - Salt On the Wound

NINE

 **Salt On the Wound**

 **Strong wind blew at their faces** as they stepped out of their cars. The skies were cloudy, covering the sun. Trees circled the house and Dante was heavily reminded of the cabin, although the structure was way smaller than it was. He and Dave moved up ahead, pulling out their firearms in case someone assaulted them. They waited by the door, watching as Charlie and Andrew inspected the surroundings. Nero and Kat waited by the car.

Charlie and Andrew returned and gave the two a nod. Dave faced the door and turned the knob. All four men went inside one by one, weapons raised before them, warily scrutinizing every bit of the house.

"Charlie and I are going to take this floor," Andrew began. "You," he told Dave, "and Dante, you take the second floor."

The latter pair went upstairs and inspected the rooms. There were only two of them: a bedroom and a bathroom. Dante made his way to the former and saw that it was empty except for a dresser and a bed. It was as if no one had lived there anymore. Both furnitures appeared to have been untouched for weeks.

"Clear," he called out. He heard Dave respond the same. They went back to the first floor soon as Charlie and Andrew confirmed that it was all clear.

"Get those two," Andrew said to Charlie who walked outside the house. "Everything's untouched."

"This is the correct address though," Dave said. "And I saw the CCTV camera outside."

"He could be living somewhere nearby," Dante suggested. "Or underground."

"There were no signs of underground passage anywhere," Andrew said. "If he has another house around here . . ."

Charlie returned to the house with Nero and Kat.

"You sensing anything?" Kat asked Andrew.

"None," he replied. "You may go and do what it is you do. Make sure we are not missing anything. Most especially demonic presence. Be on the alert."

"Copy that," the girl said, pulling out her stencil bag that was slung over her shoulder and heading for the kitchen. "It may take a while though. If Vergil was here, the alarm could be high and it may cause confusion."

"Just do what you can."

Kat tracked her way to the kitchen.

"And you," the man turned to Nero, "don't do anything rash. Follow our lead, nothing else. You start a ruckus, this will be your first and last trip."

The boy only nodded, his eyes hovering around the living room.

"I'll be outside," Charlie said. For the second time he made his way out of the house.

Dante's gaze skirted the living room as well. Like the bedroom, it was almost devoid of furniture. There were chairs stacked at the far end of the walls, and an old coffee table stood at the center. There were no lightbulbs, drawers, coat racks. There was not even a television set here. Dante wondered what Enzo Ferino did for a living now that he quit being an informant.

It was also notably suffocating in the house. It must have never been opened until they came. Dust spiraled the air; Dante almost choked.

"I think I need the air," he sputtered. Dave only glanced his way while Andrew and Nero kept looking about the place.

Once outside, Dante heaved a sigh of relief. He would have kissed the grounds if only Charlie was not there leaning on his Ford Focus that stood in front of Dave's car.

"The air shittin' on you?" he asked him.

"A lot," he answered.

"Wondered how Enzo lived there. Then I remembered he might not have been stayin' there anymore."

"There could be a shack out here," Dante said. He slipped his hands in his pockets and walked around, surveying the trees. He held his freshly-laundered coat close to him as the wind blew again.

"It's freezing out here. And this place . . . it's too gloomy."

Charlie moved away from his car and approached him. Dante saw that he was glaring.

"This is wrong. We shouldn't be doing this. I have a bad feelin' 'bout all this," he muttered.

"Andrew decided. Dave decided," Dante reminded him. "I'm not a member to get a right to tell anything."

Charlie grunted furiously. "This is bullshit."

* * *

 _Fourteen hours earlier._

The group gathered in the bunker the next day. Charlie and Lucia were seated together, the former focusing on the table and the latter looking at Andrew, waiting for him to speak. Kat was twiddling her fingers opposite them. Raia sat at her usual place near the front, her chin resting on her hands and yawning. Dave was seated beside her, arms crossed, also glowering ahead. Dante sat at the foot of the table playing with a nail file he found in his bedside drawer.

Dante glanced at Dave. He noticed that he looked a whole lot more exhausted than usual. His normally cheery air had disappeared. The bags under his eyes darkened. It could only be him, but he also noted that Dave seemed . . . _hopeless_. He was determined, but hopeless?

What on earth had he talked about with Andrew?

"I've discussed the matter with Dave," Andrew began, his hands resting on the head of the table. "He has found no reason to abandon Enzo, like I have. We're going."

He must have been expecting an uproar of protests because when he glanced at them all, he looked rather surprised. Charlie had averted his attention to him.

"You want to say something?" Andrew asked him.

Charlie shook his head.

"If we're lucky to find him alive, he will be an incredible addition to the team. He may not be able to fight at all, but his hacking skills are going to come in handy. We need him. Raia's good with the computer, but if we find ourselves stuck at one point, we can count on him."

"You ain't gonna ask if that's okay with us?" Charlie drawled. "It was only Dave you talked to. From what I could recall, all our opinions matter."

"It does. It always does. But I cannot simply let Vergil kill Enzo, or use him for whatever it is he is planning. Enzo is an asset. He knows the group's secrets, all of which Vergil had not been able to get his hands on. He will use it to his advantage." Andrew took a deep breath. "And you don't understand. Enzo has been my good friend for years. When my parents disowned me, he made sure I didn't starve and he gave me a place where I could live. I owe it to him to at least try and rescue him. We have to do this."

"I don't understand why it always has to be Dave now," Charlie grunted. "One word from him and it's all decided."

Dave's jaws were clenching. He didn't look away from the table. Raia was already glancing at him worriedly.

"Just imagine if Vergil used Enzo against us," he muttered. "Andrew's right."

"We're all givin' ourselves a death wish," Charlie said heatedly. "Didn't you see that CCTV footage? It's Vergil himself who's come out to make a move. We can't stand a chance against him. He's way too powerful than any of us put together; we've all seen that when he was here. Now that he's the new King—"

"Even if it was him, we'd all come running if it was any one of us," Dave said, finally turning to him. "If he got to Lucia, wouldn't you go out there and save her?"

Charlie bit his lip. "Of course I will—"

"Then we're going to do this," Dave said. "I'm with Andrew. If you're not, you don't have to go."

The other stared at him. His face burned red. His brows twisted together.

"Are you tryin' to tell me I'm a coward, Dave?"

"No."

"It feels to me like you do."

"I don't know about you, Charlie, but I think you're the one giving yourself the idea."

"Boys—" Andrew was saying. "Enough. Charlie, this has been decided. I am not forcing you to go if you don't want to. We're going to need someone to stay behind for Nelly and Nero anyway. But I'll have to ask the others to—"

"Fine," Charlie snapped. "I'm signin' up. Lucia will stay."

"What?" the woman hissed. "You can't—"

"You're stayin' here," Charlie said, glaring at her. "You have Nero to take care of."

"What if you need someone to check for demons?"

"I'm here," Kat piped up. "I'm getting real bored being stuck here."

Lucia gave her a grateful nod but threw Charlie a sluggish glance.

"I'm staying too," Raia said. Dante abruptly turned to her and felt his insides tie in knots. "I don't think I'm ready for this. You boys go."

Andrew gazed at them all.

"Good. Get everything you need. We leave at dawn. Make sure you are all rested."

"Wait," Dante said. "I think I still need to know more about this Enzo guy."

"Me too," Kat said.

Andrew gave another sigh.

"Aside from Sparda and Eva's assistance, this group wouldn't have existed without him. The Enlightenment's been the way it is with Enzo's help. He didn't become an official member to protect his family, so I decided to pay him for the info we get instead. And the locations of our several safehouses had been arranged by him. Even the fake addresses, false identities, e-mails, contacts with other demon hunters who work on their own, weapon deals; you name it. He even helped cover your parents' traces from Mundus. In short, what we all have here is his property. We owe every single thing to him. We let this man fall into Vergil's hands, it's like we sold our souls to the demons. It's time we paid the debt."

"You have to be ready though," Raia said. "What if he's dead?"

Andrew closed his eyes.

"At least we tried to save him."

* * *

 _Present time._

Dante stopped dead. He spotted something.

"Charlie," he called. He beckoned to him with a wave of the hand.

"What's up?" He halted by his side.

"That." Dante pointed on the ground.

The wind blew again, making the leaves scatter everywhere. Dante had paused to see if whatever he was seeing wasn't a trick of the light, but there it was.

Footprints. They led backwards from the trees.

"The tracks are headed toward the house," Charlie mumbled. "So the shack's definitely in the woods."

"Where else could it be?"

"Screw this. We should see."

"I'll tell the others. Wait here."

After telling Dave and Andrew that Dante had found a trail and he planned to find Enzo's hiding place, the two carefully stepped in the woods. No animals scurried around the trees. The only noise they could hear was the rustle of the wind on branches and their crackled footsteps as they explored the area.

"Over here," Dante said, his eyes still following the tracks. They led up to a curve on the right. More leaves covered a lot of them so he had to kick them away with his boot every now and then. He jumped when Charlie accidentally stepped on a branch and made a loud cracking sound. They moved on, still following more prints.

"Now what?" Charlie said.

The footprints have stopped in the middle of a small clearing. There was a clump of leaves at the center. Dante trotted toward it and brushed them away.

"Nothing." He swore. He thought the clump was a cover to an entrance. It was just the same rocky forest floor.

"Great," Charlie sizzed. "Dead end."

Dante put his hands on his hips, fussing.

"Darn it," he scoffed. "Someone's messing around."

He glanced left and right. There were no more footprints anywhere. If Enzo was not using the house and there was no hideout here, where had he stayed?

Dante moved forward. His feet went over the clump of leaves and before he realized what was going on, it was all too late.

 _"_ _Holy shit_ _—"_

"Hey!" Charlie was shouting.

Dante landed on the floor with a loud thud and rocks were falling on him. The breath was knocked out of him. He gasped, coughing, his eyes clamped shut.

"God- _fucking_ -dammit," he groaned painfully. " _Fuck_."

"Hey!" Charlie shouted again. "Dante! You okay down there?"

Dante opened his watering eyes.

Light poured dimly in the tunnel. There was a hole from where he had fallen and he could see Charlie's silhouette peering down at him. He glanced around. It was still too dark to see clearly.

"Dante?" Charlie called.

"Jesus, Charlie," Dante groaned. "I am not fucking okay. I just fucking fell down a shitty hole."

He could hear a chortle.

"You're laughing at me now?" he sputtered indignantly at him.

"What? I just saw a badass demon hunter fall clumsily down a hole," Charlie laughed. "That, my friend, is priceless."

Dante cursed at his aching back. "Fuck you, Charlie."

The man sniggered.

"There's a ladder here," he said. Dante could hear him move as he himself turned over and tried to sit grudgingly. Massaging his neck, he saw that the part of the manhole cover had fallen along with him and that he had landed on it. It was made of wood although it blended so well with the ground he had not suspected it was something else.

"I'm going to kill Enzo once I find him," Dante muttered. "Shit, it hurts. My butt is hurting. Darn it."

Charlie stepped in the tunnel. He turned away from the ladder and helped him stand.

"Don't look so sad, Nephilim kid," he said. "Heroes have their moments every once in a while."

"Not a word of this to anyone," Dante grunted. "You think this is the hideout?"

"I'd like to believe it is," Charlie replied. He pulled out a flashlight from his jacket pocket and looked around. The tunnel was a long corridor leading to a heavy steel door looming feet from them.

"Come on," Dante said. The two swept the corridor, their boots giving off low echoes as they padded down and pushed on the door which opened with an angry screech, drowning the squeaks from passing rats. They shuffled inside, Charlie flicking his flashlight on the walls and locating a switch. He turned to flip it on.

"So he really wasn't livin' in that house anymore, huh?" he said.

Bright light hit the large room. The walls were ashen-gray and gave off a sour smell. A scraggly bed stood to their left, the blankets crumpled in places. Next to it was a shelf lined with canned food, the refrigerator on its right hanging open, exposing frozen meat, chicken, and bottles and cans of beer. At the far corner was the sink and the stove. Dante could see the faucet was dripping with water. A door next to it, he assumed, was the bathroom. In the center of it all were three sets of computers sitting on a large table that have all been left turned on, one of them being a laptop, still charging. Behind the table, nailed to the wall, was a wide cork board where countless notes and pictures were posted.

Dante sauntered toward the board, examining all the notes and photos there. He saw one picture of himself: drunk in the middle of the night, his arms wrapped around two buxom girls wearing ridiculously short cocktail dresses. This might have been taken one or two years ago; his hair in the photo was shorter and was still black. He studied the girls. He could not even remember their names, but he knew he had slept with both of them one fun night.

His eyes turned to the other pictures, spotting Raia, Andrew, Charlie, Dave, Lucia, and Arwin on a few of them along with fifteen or so other people. They could've been the other members of The Enlightenment.

He then looked at the notes. A few of them were routines, majority of it all were various classified information dumped together in a messy heap. There were the previous deals with The Enlightenment about their weapons which have been dated a year ago. Others were about billing statements from various safehouses, a list of false identities and bank accounts Enzo has hacked into and stole money from, and—

Dante squinted at one more note. He saw a small photo of the boy Nero who seemed to be younger here, attached on the paper. He had dark-brown hair and was laughing. He looked at the label.

Lonan Cliffer aka Nero, age 12, currently residing in The Home of St. Malkam.

Relations: Son of Andrew and Catherine Cliffer (confirmed)

Orphanage is run by George Sanctus, age 64

"Holy shit," Dante muttered. "Charlie." He craned over his shoulder and spotted his companion tapping at the computers.

"Enzo's browser history is crazy," he said. "I can see nothin' but Pornhub dot com. He's pro'lly deleted all our e-mail addresses and other stuff."

"Forget that shit," Dante hissed. "Look at this."

"Wait . . . no, I think you'll wanna see this," Charlie remained focused on the computers. He grabbed a stool and sat, typing away.

"Charlie—"

"Enzo's left us a message," Charlie cut him off. "Look."

Sighing, Dante plucked the note from the cork board and went over to him, standing by his side, watching as his companion pulled the laptop toward him, opening a video file from one of the hidden folders. Charlie clicked on it, the screen now showing a man in his late forties wiping at his balding hair. He had a thick beard and was wearing glasses.

"If you're watching this, I am most probably dead," he spoke with a heavy accent. "I don't know who the hell will be watching this, but if you're Andrew Cliffer or anybody else from The Enlightenment, I tell you: you shouldn't have come. I don't know what is happening to you people now that you have not contacted me. If this is Andrew, I tell you that I am still mad at you for not telling me where you and your group went. I know it's for my protection, but you have been my friend for years. The danger doesn't matter. My family is already settled somewhere away from me, safe—at least I think so.

"You must have received the CCTV footage I sent you. I hope you did, because if you are here watching this video, _Gesu_ , Andrew, you are an idiot. The CCTV footage is a warning. I don't want you to come and risk your group's safety. If this is really Vergil who wants to talk to me, then I will come out of my hiding place and meet him. I fear that this young lad had undergone some change. Some real, nasty change. He is not the warm, welcoming boy I have known. There is darkness in him. I do hope his brother has not become that way, because if he did, then we are all screwed. Dante sure seemed to fuck up a lot when I was searching for him, but he does not seem to be a bad young man. I hope I am right with that.

"I'm in a hurry. I should end this record now. Vergil is waiting for me. I have not left any clues to your locations in these computers; I have deleted all I can, but I will leave this one and the other which will be another CCTV footage. Vergil is still standing outside my house. He looks very calm here, mind you. I wonder what has happened to him after he found his twin. I hope what happened _that_ day did not leave him a deep scar. You did him wrong for not telling him. I don't blame you for the incident, though. I would have done the same. I just wish that if you are watching this, you have already informed your group. Arwin cannot be the only one who knows about this. It will haunt him as well. I know you don't want to talk about it, but they earned their right to know."

There was a pause. Enzo Ferino reached out beside him and grabbed a towel, wiping his sweaty face.

"I will go now. If you're here, I seriously wish you had not come. But I will just advise you to leave immediately because I don't like the feeling I'm getting right now. It feels like I'm going to die anytime soon. . . ." He shuddered. "Tell Paula and my boys I love them.

"Good-bye, Andrew."

The video ended there. Dante looked at Charlie who was frowning.

"Are there any more videos there?" he asked him.

"In the other PC. When I looked, the CCTV's still runnin'."

Charlie dragged his stool in front of the computer at the center of the table. He pressed a button and it lit up, showing a video feed where Andrew and Dave were standing by the door. They were not talking to each other. Dave seemed downright angry and Andrew looked like he was going to faint.

"Have an idea what they talked about?" Dante said.

"Nada," Charlie answered, going for the backward button on the footage. "I'm more concered about what Andrew didn't tell Vergil and us. You should be concerned too 'cause maybe you'll need to know it like we all do."

Charlie stopped at the part where Vergil was standing on the porch of the same house, leaning on the wall. He lowered the brim of his hat a little bit before he turned. He gave a small smile as Enzo entered the scene, standing by the small staircase. He was now wearing a bonnet over his head. Vergil bowed at him and motioned at the door, reeling to push it open. They went inside and the door was closed.

The minutes ticked by. Dante was tempted to turn the computer off when suddenly, the video began shaking. There was earthquake happening in the footage. It went on for seconds before it stopped. The door opened again and out came Vergil straightening up his coat. He walked away from the house, the door mysteriously snapping shut of its own accord. There was nothing else to see.

"What the fuck was that . . . ?" Charlie muttered.

"Shit. Did he kill him?" Dante said.

"Jesus Christ. If this is a fuckin' trap . . . ," Charlie stood up and gazed at the computers.

"Enzo's right. We shouldn't have come here."

The man looked at him. "Wait. Didn't you say you found somethin'?"

Dante hesitated. He handed the note he was still holding to him. He took it and read.

"What . . . ," he was mumbling. He was frowning again. He glanced up to Dante. "I didn't know about this. He . . . I thought Lonan's dead . . ."

"What do you mean?" Dante asked. Charlie had turned pale.

"When Mundus attacked the HQ that day, years ago. The night before he found your parents. Andrew had a son. He was killed along with Catherine. I can't recall much though, I was knocked out that day . . . I woke up a day later and they told me they returned to HQ to see if anyone survived. Andrew said the little guy died." He looked at the paper as if it was haunting him like a ghost. "Andrew never wanted to talk about it, so we never mentioned anythin' about him again. I. . . . Nero . . . Nero's Andrew's son? Lonan's alive . . . ?"

"And he told . . . only Arwin?" Dante said.

Charlie shook his head. "Why? Why the hell didn't he tell us?"

"Charlie—"

He tossed the paper on the floor. "Fuck this. What else is he hidin'?"

"Charlie, we need to get to them right now. This could be the exact reason why Vergil went to get him—and this isn't the right time to be discussing this. We're all in danger here—"

 _"_ _Fuck!"_ Charlie yelled. "Andrew— He only told Arwin— Why didn't he—"

"Charlie, we can't do this right now— We have to go—"

 _"_ _Get the fuck off me!"_ Charlie bellowed, pushing Dante away as he tried to grab his arm. He whirled away and stormed off the room.

"Dammit," Dante hissed. He went after him, forgetting to shut the door.

* * *

 _Twelve hours earlier._

Dante opened the door. Raia stood in front of him, her arms crossed. Her inky-black hair fell down her shoulders. She was wearing a blue cotton jacket over her black tank top. She gave him a slight smile, tilting her head to the side.

"Hi," she said.

Dante leaned against the door, still holding the knob.

"Hi," he answered. "I've been hearing yelling. Was that Nero and Andrew?"

"Yeah. Nero wants to go with you guys. Says he's already sick of the treatment in here. I think he's right; the kid needs some action now. He's been training for weeks and he's been damn good. It'd be unfair to him if we keep him from wanting to try what he can."

Dante looked at her. She leaned as well, against the doorframe. Her eyes observed his messy room. He tried to block the view, aware that a bunch of his boxer briefs were occupying his bed. He'd been trying to sort out all his things for he had never really bothered touching them since they came here in the cabin. He had been preparing all that he'd need for their next trip, though he found himself highly annoyed at his own mess.

"Anything up?" he asked, trying not to be awkward.

The girl turned to him. "Um . . . not really. I just . . . ," she shook her head. "Can—can I come in?"

He wanted to say no. His room was embarrassing right now. He didn't want her to see what he'd been doing.

Dante mused. Before meeting her, or Vergil, or Kat, he never much cared about what his room looked like. He'd taken dozens of girls in his trailer without bothering to clean the vehicle at all. His bed was never made, boxes of pizza littered the floor, band posters were plastered all over the walls and the sink was always full of unwashed dishes. He could even remember meeting Kat the first time and he wasn't wearing anything at all. He wondered how embarrassed she had been. She hadn't said anything about their first meeting. She did not even complain seeing him naked.

"Dante?" Raia called, waving a hand at him. He blinked and stared.

"Look, if you're busy and you don't want me bothering you—"

"No," he said immediately. "No, it's okay. Come in." He pulled the door wide and rushed to his bed, rolling his blanket over all his underwear and tossing pairs of jeans, shirts, and jackets on the other side of the floor. Raia stepped in, taking in the sight of his room.

"Are you leaving or something?" she asked accusingly.

"No," Dante said again, turning to her. She raised her penciled eyebrows at him in an incriminating manner. "I'm not leaving. I'm just arranging my stuff. I hate how they look."

Raia nodded but seemed unconvinced.

"Really, Hwang," he continued. "I'm not going anywhere."

She slipped her hands in her jacket pockets. "Okay," she said. She went over to the bed and sat.

"You really not coming?" Dante asked. He remained rooted to his spot. His thumbs hooked in his belt loops, not sure where to look and thought twice about sitting next to her.

Raia glanced up at him and gave a mischievous smile.

"Are you going to miss me, demon boy?"

Dante snorted. "I'll leave that for you to think about," he teased, then sighed. He watched as she folded up her knees before her and hugged them, kicking off her bunny slippers, their ears dangling clumsily on the floor. She was still looking at him directly. He wished she'd just turn away. His insides kept tumbling. He wanted to look away, but he could not bring himself to. It felt like a waste if he avoided her.

"D'you need something?" he began.

"No," Raia said. "I just wanted to be sweet and tell you to be careful tomorrow. All you boys are going and if something happened, we ladies won't be able to do without the muscle."

Dante snorted. "Well, that's sweet."

The girl laughed softly.

"Seriously, though. You boys ought to be careful. I'd feel bad if you got into trouble."

"Promise," Dante said.

Raia swung her long legs off the bed, brushing her bangs back from her forehead. She laid her hands on her lap and looked at the window. The sky outside glowed orange. The sun was almost setting.

Dante watched her. He wanted to sit down by her side but he restrained himself and simply observed her as she continued to go along with the silence.

"How are you holding up?" he said.

She turned to him.

"What?"

"How are you holding up?" he repeated.

Raia's brows knitted perplexedly. She squinted to give him a look.

"What do you mean?"

Dante glowered on the floor. He strode toward the door and closed it. He walked over to the window. On the grounds outside, he could see Nelly running around the three vehicles while being chased by Dave who was suddenly cheerful again. Kat was strolling after them with a hand on her stomach, laughing hard. Nero was already with them, standing feet from the steps of the porch, smiling broadly as if he was not suffering an illness.

Dante's insides tightened with envy. He knew these people had problems of their own, but right now they looked like they never had a care in the world.

His steered his gaze away from the window to Raia.

"We're not talking about it. I know you told me you didn't want it mentioned again, but it's been bugging me. We have to talk about this."

"About what?"

"My brother. What he did to you."

Raia glared at him, just as he expected. She stood up and he could see her fists balling up.

"We are not discussing this anymore. I told you—"

"You can't make me sit tight and shut me up about it. What he did to you—it's fucked up and I'm wondering why the hell you did not tell Andrew and Dave about this—"

"They would not believe me. My own boyfriend did not listen."

"They're not Arwin. They will listen. Andrew's the father of this group and Dave's your friend— What Vergil did is serious, I can't even imagine he would do something like that—"

"It was my fault Arwin did not listen to me, demon boy," Raia hissed. "I was too reckless, too angry to care and Vergil caught me off-guard—"

"My brother violated you!" Dante snarled. The girl stared wide-eyed at him, her jaws dropping. Her hands went up to her mouth.

"Dante—"

"If this is okay with you, it's not with me. I don't care if this was your fault. You didn't deserve this. You don't deserve any of this. And if Arwin didn't see that, I'm sorry, but he was stupid. My brother fucking spiked your drink and had sex with you and you weren't even aware of it because you were drugged— That's— Hwang, that's just close to rape— I—"

"Dante, stop—"

"No! Vergil—he fucking violated you and I can't stop thinking about it— He didn't have to do that— Hell, he hadn't earned any right to do this to you—"

"This is why I don't want to talk about this again—"

"This is exactly why you had to tell someone! Not everyone is Arwin—Andrew and Dave will believe you—"

"What could have they done about it?" Raia shouted back. Tears fell from her eyes. "Why do you even give so much shit about what happened to me—"

 _"_ _I care about you!"_ Dante bellowed.

The girl stared at him. Her hands fell at her sides. He looked away. He could see in the corner of his vision that Raia was glancing up at him.

He turned back to her. She winced.

"Hwang," he muttered. He took a step forward to her and held her by the shoulders. How she shook—he had to relax his grip to show her she didn't have to be afraid. He was outraged, but not at her. He was outraged at himself. He hated how he could not do anything. He could not help but hate on his brother. Maybe he would not be able to kill him when the time comes, but that did not stop the anger that ran within him.

"I care about you. I care about what happened to you," he whispered. "This is cruel. If you hadn't talked to anyone about this—it scares me. I don't know what you would've done."

"Dante—"

"What Vergil did to you—it's not a small thing. It's _repulsive_ — If I saw him again, I'm not sure what I'd do—"

Raia suddenly moved closer to him and held his face. She was shaking her head.

"Dante. I know what happened. You've no idea how it haunts me every night. Thinking about how he touched me—it makes me want to kill him. I want to kill your brother. But you have to stop thinking about me. When you face him, forget about me. He's your family. It's your goal to save him. You can't consider what he's done when you confront him. I want you to do what you have to. You can't do what your anger tells you to."

Dante looked into her eyes. How can she tell him this if she loathed his brother to the core?

How would he ever be able to forget about her when he confronts Vergil? In just a short span of time, he grew to acknowledge her. He cared so much about her he was so torn apart between saving his twin and getting the justice Raia deserved. He cared so much his heart broke every time he thought about what to do.

"I—"

"You have to promise me," she said.

"Hwang, I can't—"

"Dante. Please. This is not about me. I'm none of your business."

"You made me a part of this business. Maybe this is not about you, but to me, it is." He raised his hand and wiped a tear away from her eye.

"I don't want you to do something you'll regret, demon boy," Raia whimpered. "I don't want this to destroy you. I care about you too. You've been so kind to me. You're always there, and I'm grateful. I want to do right by you and I can't stand it if you lived blaming yourself for what you did. Please promise me."

Dante sighed. He bent down and planted a deep kiss on her forehead. Raia's hands slid down to his chest, feeling for his heart. It thumped furiously he wondered how it wasn't kicking its way out of his system.

Pulling away, Dante leaned against her forehead and stared at her. Her eyes were closed, but her full lips were slightly parted.

"It'll be difficult, you know," he murmured. "I can't promise you. But I'll try. I'll swear on that."

"Don't you go dying on me," Raia said.

"I won't."

Her fingers went up to his lips. Dante was growing weaker, but he held himself steady and remained there, breathing her in.

"I've already lost Arwin," she muttered. "I don't want to lose you too."

* * *

 _Present time._

"Found anything?"

Kat wheeled around. Nero went inside the kitchen and sat on the table.

"Not much," she said. She got up to her feet and studied the circular ward she traced on the floor with her spray can. She picked up the paper on it and rolled it back in her stencil bag. "I sense a presence, but that could just be because Vergil was here. There are no other stuff. You should feel collisions if there's a ton of demons, but there's nothing here. I don't think they could phase through the barrier in Limbo City. It's too strong. They wouldn't be able to cross it even if they were in Limbo. But maybe except Vergil. If he had been there, anyway."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I've got an idea how it was done, and what its effects are going to be. If I made that barrier, I'll be able to remove it. The problem is I didn't."

Nero stared at the circle. "Well, that sucks."

"You tell me."

The boy scratched his nose and frowned. "Where did you learn all this?"

Kat slipped into a chair next to him, letting her stencil bag roll down on the floor.

"Vergil," she said. "He taught me all this."

Nero shuddered at the sound of the name. His gloved hands balled up.

"He sounded so cool from their stories . . . ," he murmured. "I don't get why he became like this. From what I saw . . . he's a monster. And George, the guy who owned St. Malkam's . . . he handed Kyrie over to him. I don't know what's up with her to make him do that. She's my friend. I don't want to lose her." He gritted his teeth. "That son of a bitch. I'm going to kill him."

Kat winced. "Nero. You can't let all this get to you. It's natural to worry about your friend and feel scared for her, but all this anger, this revenge you want . . . it won't do you any good."

Nero scoffed. "What do you know?"

"Vergil is doing all this because he wants revenge. He wants to get back at his brother for turning his back on him. You don't want to do this. Vengeance makes you a monster."

The boy gulped. "I just wanted to go back to my normal life. I want to go back to the orphanage. But there's nothing to return to."

"We all desire peace, don't we?"

There a low, humming sound. The circular ward began to glow all of a sudden.

"What's going on?" Nero said.

"I—" Kat spluttered. "What on earth is this . . . ?" She strode away from her seat and bent over the ward. The light it provided was dim, and so was the hum it was letting out.

"Where are they? The four guys?"

Nero stood up. "All of them are outside. Dave and Andrew are talking. Dante and Charlie went to follow a track they saw earlier."

"Go," Kat pushed him ahead, turning to the ward. "Go get them!"

"What—? But what's happening—?"

"I don't know! Just go get them— _Shit_ — I'm pretty sure it shouldn't be doing this—"

Nero did not need another telling. He began to run out of the kitchen but stopped suddenly—the earth quaked violently—

"No—!" Kat was screaming. She fell on the floor as the furniture all around them shuddered, the lightest of the objects starting to levitate and reaching the ceiling—

A great wave of force washed over them; the colors of the surroundings began to grow dull, desaturated. There was another loud humming against their ears; grime spread on the walls and eerie voices echoed all over the house. There was screaming, crying, growling and whispering—Kat's horror-stricken face glanced everywhere and there was nothing she could do but watch. Black liquid began to leak from the ceiling and from every corner of the floor, the drops floating like small bubbles.

"What the hell—" Nero was yelling.

The ground continued to quake for a few more seconds before it immediately stopped. The echoing voices faded slowly, leaving nothing but the constant _drip-drip_ coming from the leaks and the tiny popping of the black bubbles.

Kat was shaking. She struggled to get up on her feet but failed; Nero ran over to her and offered his hand. She took it gratefully and stood, staring, frightened, at the dying glow of the ward.

"Kat—what the _shit_ just happened?"

The girl shook her head.

Nero gaped at her. He glowered around the kitchen, fear greatly etched on his face. He had gone pale.

"Is this Limbo?" he muttered.

Kat opened her mouth to speak. A lump in her throat hurt her.

"I-I don't think this is Limbo. It looks different. It feels different." She looked into the boy's eyes and noticed how dull it appeared. They were so blue in the real world. "The colors—they're something else. And the demonic presence here, it's even more sinister . . . but there's a lot, like there are more around here, other than demons . . ."

Nero was stunned.

"What is this place, then?"

Kat shook her head again.

"We h-have to go," Kat said. "They could be outside. We have to find them."

"H-Hello?"

The two turned around.

A man was limping toward them, his arm clutching his left rib. He was a stocky and stout man of his late forties. He was wearing a bonnet and had a thick beard. He was wearing a dark-green trench coat over his shirt and trousers. He propped up his glasses to get a good look on them.

"Who are you?" Nero said, on the alert. He drew out a gun from behind him and pointed, standing in front of Kat, his free arm shielding her.

"Whoa, son," the man said, raising his hands before him in a form of surrender. "You might wanna be careful with that."

"Who are _you_?" Nero repeated threateningly. "Tell me who you are or I'm gonna pull the trigger—"

"No—please—" the man exclaimed. "I'm human too—I was only dragged in here—"

Nero lowered the gun.

"You're Enzo?"

"How did you—" Enzo looked at him closely. He gasped.

"You—you can't be Nero?"

"How did you know who I am?"

"Wait," Kat said, finally gathering herself, "what just happened? Are you really Enzo? How can you be here?"

Enzo Ferino fixed his eyes on the two.

"You people—are you with The Enlightenment?"

Kat threw a glance on Nero. His hand was still tight on his gun even though it was already lowered.

"Yeah," the boy answered sternly.

"Then you must have seen the video I sent?"

Kat pursed her lips. "Yes. We did. Andrew told us we had to come and get you. They could be outside—"

"Good God," Enzo gasped. "Andrew—what an idiot—"

"What?"

"You shouldn't have come! This place—this is a nightmare come to life! Wherever your leader and his men could be, they are most definitely not here, in this plane— We cannot go outside—"

"Why?" Nero spat. "What on earth is this place?"

"I don't know! But whatever this is, I could only pray that I won't die here! We are not going to survive here— Demons and monsters—angels even—they are all out there to kill us!"

* * *

Dave leaned against his car. He was holding his shotgun and was glowering at Enzo's house.

"Dave?" Andrew called.

He didn't turn.

"I know you're still angry," the man sighed. "You have every right to. But we don't have the luxury to be arguing at this moment."

"When are you planning to tell Dante about this? What you've done?"

Andrew sighed again. "I can't tell when, Dave. I don't think I can."

"You owe it to him," Dave hissed. "You hid this from Vergil. When he accidentally found out about this, look what happened. What if he does the same? His twin—it drove him mad. Dante's too preoccupied with everything going on. If he knew this the other way, he might end up the same."

"What will I tell him? _'I sacrificed them to save my family, I'm sorry'_? It's not an easy job, David. Despite my experience all these years, that— The past, it never did me good."

"And you think it'll do him good if you never told him?" Dave spat. "I don't care if what he doesn't know won't hurt him! He'll find this out soon, no matter what! For all we know, Vergil would tell him if they meet one day. Dante may turn on you. On us." He bit his lip. "He could turn on Hwang. Have you seen them recently? I think Hwang's doing better with him around, and if you screw up and it destroys them—"

"Don't you think I know, David? I have seen those two. I agree that Raia is doing fine because of Dante's help. That is what I am worried about. Raia is broken."

"She's a fucking shipwreck—"

"—and the boy is doing what he can for her to stop bringing herself down because of Arwin," Andrew finished. "I'm not blind. Dante has taken a liking to her. I'm not sure I'm ready to ruin that."

"You will if you don't admit to your crime right away." Dave hissed. "I can't stand this. I'm not the lying type. I can't keep secrets. It's eating at me."

Andrew rubbed both his hands at his face. "I know, David. I'm sorry. But this is going to take me some time. I'm scared it will affect him at the worst way possible. With Vergil as the enemy, all this—I could kill what he believed in with this."

Dave glared at him. He turned away and went back to staring at the house. He was getting sick of feeling this way, hating on the whole world, blaming Andrew for everything. He was not used to this. Maybe before, after his parents' deaths, but after realizing he needed to pull himself together, he tried all he can to stop being unreasonable, keeping in mind he had a mission to protect people and prevent his hatred from getting to him.

Funny how it had been easier for him to be this happy-go-lucky guy to help The Enlightenment get back on their feet those days. Right now, however . . . he can't even smile that much anymore. Now that the group is in shambles and could not operate without having more problems gnawing at them. He tried to be positive, tried to be contagious despite being negative himself. Life was mocking them. There was no way he could fight that.

"What's taking those two so long . . . ?" he muttered, glancing around at the woods. Wind blew once again, making the trees rustle in a melancholic manner. He saw Andrew walk back to the house, although before the man could set foot on the porch, the ground shook.

Dave straightened up and tightened the hold of his shotgun. The quake was getting stronger, making birds fly out of the trees with loud squawks and screeches—he had to hold on to his car to avoid collapsing. He could see Andrew grab on the porch's railing and turn to his direction, pulling out a shortsword from his side—it was a xiphos given to him by Sparda years ago, he was told—

The quaking stopped quickly. Silence ensued.

Dave ran away from his car toward Andrew.

"Andrew—are you okay—?"

"I'm fine, David," the man gasped. "Go check on Kat and Nero—I'm going to search for Charlie and Dante—"

 _"_ _Guys!"_

It was the speak of the devil. Charlie and Dante were sprinting toward them with their weapons drawn. Charlie was unusually red-faced and Dante wore this extreme look of concern.

"Where's Kat?" the latter called out to them. "You felt that earthquake, right?"

Dave nodded. "Yeah, I was about to go see them—"

"You are not going to find them in there," a clear voice said.

All of them reeled around. None of them spoke nor gasped; Dave's heart seemed to have stopped beating at all. He could feel all the color drain from him.

A gentleman was standing before them wearing a homburg hat. He was wearing a long black coat. He was also holding a cane—no, a katana—in his right hand. He smiled at them.

"It has been a long while since we last met, Andrew," Vergil said. "Did you miss me?"


	12. 10 - Braindead

TEN

 **Braindead**

 **Her eyebrows weren't properly aligned.**

Raia frowned. She turned the pencil over and erased the soft lines, going over it again, this time more carefully, the tip of the pencil slowly brushing the paper. The eyebrows were more symmetrical now, and she admired how delicate they appeared. She went back to the lips, darkening some of its features to emphasize its color, giving it a voluptuous look. She added a few details here and there, the finishing touches making the face ethereal.

She put the pencil back on the coffee table and reviewed her work.

The woman was giving her this beautifully haunting gaze. Her smile was vague, but it gave a lot of her shrewdness. Her eyes were sharp and hypnotizing. Her light hair fell down her smooth shoulders, ending in waves. She wore a crown of flowers, the blossoms alive, all in full bloom. At the end of the portrait were her small hands, and she was holding a wooden box in her palms. The lid was opened and smoke billowed out from it.

 _Pandora's box._

Raia fumbled for the book beside her and flipped through the pages. Her finger slid down two particular paragraphs, reading Pandora's description once more:

 _Pandora, "the gift of all", was the first woman the gods have created. She was meant to be adored and admired, loved deeply by men who sought her greatly. Little did they know that the lovely maiden was created to ridicule and bring despair upon their hearts, to revel in their wretchedest moments._

 _Other stories had this beautiful monster guard a box the gods have given her, with clear instructions to never open it. Out of enormous curiosity, however, Pandora lifted the box's lid and out came the greatest evils of the world. Frightened, the maiden closed the box, leaving behind the one thing that would have fought the detestable wickednesses that clouded the earth—hope._

Raia looked back at the woman she had drawn. Satisfied, she laid the paper and another book it was leaning on back on the table with her pencil and opened more books by her side, sifting through pages, taking in the smell of the leather-bound volumes. She had been researching anything related to demons and angels, and Nephilim, although when she found the myth about Pandora she had this great desire of drawing her. She had raced back to her room to grab her old art supplies she had not touched for two years, then returned to the living room in front of the fireplace, sketching the hours away. She was glad she had not lost her skill; out of all her abilities—stealth killing, high proficiency with weapons, demon-hunting, and beer-drinking against Dave—drawing and painting were the ones she valued most. They were the only things that ever gave her peace. She loved reading, but some stories she have come across disturbed her. When she drew, however, it was as if an endless bliss have come over her. She did not have to think, did not have to worry. She just let her hand flow freely across the paper or canvas, and just let it all form a picture that told millions of stories. For her, there was no other way to give her tranquility.

She laid the three books she was reading on her lap. She kept on going back to some phrases she'd underlined with her pencil. There was nothing she can use here as a clue to help find out more about herself, and the Warrior. There wasn't even a name that could match this title. She thought she only overlooked some details, but after re-reading them ten times consecutively, she finally gave up. The closest Raia had come to were about the Nephilim. She was way stronger than demons. She had problems with the greater ones, but she could still get rid of them. She did not know, however, if it was the same with angels since they seemed to have completely disappeared off the face of the earth. And she most definitely have not killed a demon king yet, so she's going to have to go back to doubting her theories again. Being Nephilim might not be the answer.

But what if she was an angel?

It wouldn't be far off her case either. Some of her power resembled that of an angel's, but so were with the demons.

Maybe it was the Nephilim. Maybe she was one of them.

But then she did not know what the hell this "Warrior" was. It was like she never existed from any kind of myth or legend. Only two greater demons have mentioned anything about her and she was afraid they were the last to have any knowledge about her.

Raia angrily ruffled her own hair. None of this was getting her anywhere. She indeed needed help. Dante's help.

Raia glowered at the fireplace, her mind racing. What happened yesterday in his room ran back to her. Her cheeks burned every time she recalled how his lips brushed her forehead and how his eyes searched her deeply. Maybe it was not the time to think about him this way for Arwin only died a week ago, but she could not stop this feeling. And without Dante around, it drove her crazy. She hated that it was her fault for not going with the guys, but she couldn't bear another trip for now. The events from Paradise Manor still haunted her. It would be toilsome for her to focus and she was afraid she would only cause problems had she gone with them.

She just hoped nothing wrong would happen to them. The Enlightenment was her family and the other two, Dante and Kat, were part of the team. She lost too many people she cared about. Losing more would kill her.

It took most of her concentration to push this nagging thought in her head that something terrible was about to go down. She could only hope she was just too anxious due to being left behind today.

Raia turned to another book about mythical worlds instead, tearing her mind away from Dante and the others. The volume wasn't from The Enlightenment's collection. It was from Kat, and she had not exactly borrowed it—she merely remembered that the girl had brought books with her when they came to the cabin and she thought Kat had some volumes related to the supernatural. She had unceremoniously barged into her room and pulled out some titles, promising to return them into their proper places once she were done with them. Kat wouldn't have to know she borrowed her books without her permission. She would've surfed the Internet although there had been nothing there either.

"What are you doing?"

Raia looked up. Nelly and Lucia were approaching her. She turned to the ten or more so books around her, and the empty coffee mug and her Pandora portrait on the table.

"Um," she stammered. "I-I—I'm just trying to kill time." She forced a giggle. She stopped quickly and thought how ridiculous she must have sounded. "I mean, we're waiting for them to come back and there's nothing we could really do here."

Nelly sat on the couch next to the armchair she was sitting on. Lucia placed herself beside the little girl. Both of them were looking at the Pandora portrait.

"Wow," Nelly said. "That's so pretty!"

"You made this?" Lucia asked, taking the drawing and peering at it closely.

"Uh, yeah," Raia said, closing the books. She had slipped a bookmark on the chapter about demonic and angelic dimensions on Kat's book. She made a mental reminder to ask her if she could keep it for a while. "It's Pandora. You know, from Greek mythology. The girl who opened a box."

Lucia smiled at the portrait. "I had an idea soon as I saw the box," she said. "It's beautiful, Raia. I didn't know you can draw. We've known each other for three years and never did I see you draw once."

Raia shrugged. "Thanks. I haven't drawn in two years, to be honest. In my first year with you guys, I've mostly kept to my room. That's where I sketched."

"It's good you haven't lost your touch. For two years, this is incredible."

Raia only smiled.

"I think I'll take these books back," she said, getting up to her feet and gathering the volumes in her arms. She sidled past the armchairs to the bookshelf and slipped the books back to their places. Returning to her seat, she put Kat's collection on the coffee table and leaned back. She stared at the fireplace, resting her feet on her armchair and hugging her knees.

"I wonder how they're doing now," she muttered. Nelly had walked off the living room mumbling about chocolate bars, leaving the two women watching the flames as they danced.

"I certainly hope they are doing fine," Lucia said. She shifted in her seat, lying on her back on the couch. "Charlie kept saying he had a bad feeling about all this. I hope he's wrong there. I wouldn't want anything to happen to them."

"Maybe we should make them some really delicious dinner," Raia said. "So they'll forget all about this shit when they come back. We're gonna look like boring housewives, but I think they'll be thankful for the thought."

Lucia gave a chortle. "I would never want to be a housewife. But there is no harm making dinner for them."

Raia grinned. She leaned her chin on her arms, hopelessly praying that wherever their groupmates were, they would just be fine. If they ever got themselves in danger . . .

"I'm sure they're okay," she said.

* * *

Vergil was smirking at their stricken faces. He took away his homburg hat from his slick snowy-white hair and it vanished into smoke. His hands rested on the hilt of his katana, the Yamato, which he held as it stood on the ground. His eyes surveyed the men one by one, and when they found Dante, the other froze.

It was really him. The brother who had been missing for a year after their duel. He still looked the same, but he did not feel the same. There was something about him which made him very different from the Vergil he had come to know. He liked to fool himself into thinking that this man before them all was only a doppelgänger, but that wasn't going to happen. This was his reality now.

Vergil is the enemy.

"This is kinda sad," Vergil sneered. "I was hoping I was met with gasps and yelps of surprise. This silence feels a bit uncomfortable."

No one spoke. Dante stared at him, eyes wide. His fingers were going numb. He saw Dave whiten entirely as he watched while Andrew shook from head to toe as he looked his twin up and down. Charlie was also watching and all the color had already drained from his face.

"I'm not expecting a warm welcome," Vergil continued. "But I half-hoped to receive tons of questions."

Dante pushed the lump back down his throat, though it hurt for it had gone dry. A drop of sweat trickled down his forehead.

"Dante?" Vergil pursued. He shuddered at the mention of his own name. The former raised both his eyebrows. "You're not gonna say anything? I've been waiting for this moment to come. You didn't miss me?"

He said something but he was sure his voice had left him already.

"Well, you hurt my feelings," his brother went on. "You could at least scream at me or just say hi."

Dante clenched his fists. "You actually expecting me to ask you what you've done to yourself, Vergil?" he finally said in a loud voice. Maybe he shouldn't be shocked, but what can he do? His twin bunked off for a year then suddenly murdered a person to leave a damn phone call. Days later, he turns up in a mysterious CCTV footage threatening someone. Vergil can't really think his absurdly cheeky brother would have anything to say at his comeback.

He chuckled. "Yes. Honestly, Dante, for what I remember, you always demanded for answers, and you never stopped till you've got them."

"I'm sure I don't ask much, though. I get answers through my violent fits. I know you know that."

Vergil nodded in agreement. "That goes without saying. But . . . it saddens me. Bonding too much with The Enlightenment seems to have softened you a lot."

"Unlike you," Dante hissed. "What have you done, Vergil? Why the fuck are you doing all this?"

"You did this to me, brother. I trusted you. In fact, I trusted that bunch you are with. Do you even know what Andrew has done to our parents?"

Dante did not answer.

"Vergil," it was Andrew who spoke, "you know why I had to do that. I had no choice. I'm sorry."

"No, Andrew," Vergil snapped at him. "Be sorry for yourself. I will never forgive you. I don't care if Catherine and Lonan were threatened. You sacrificed my parents' safety—there is no way I can forgive you."

"There is no day I did not regret what I have done! As much as I'd like to believe it would've prevented Cathy's and the others' deaths—I regret every single part of it! Please—stop doing this—"

Dante looked from him to his brother.

"What the hell is this? What are you talking about?"

Vergil smiled an awfully impish smile.

"Wonderful. My brother doesn't even know," he sneered. "Too bad, Dante. You've picked the wrong side."

"Shut the fuck up!" Dante bellowed. "Andrew—goddammit, you'd better tell me whatever shit you're hiding—"

 _Bang!_

Vergil dodged the shot faster than they could have anticipated. He glanced around to Dave who pointed his smoking shotgun at him.

"David," Vergil smirked. "That was a terrible idea." He raised a hand and flicked his wrist.

"No— Dave, NO!" Charlie was shouting. Dave jerked upright and screamed. Tears of blood fell from his eyes—Vergil was grinning and kept waving his fingers, making his victim double down and collapse on his knees, coughing, crying, and writhing. Charlie had moved to get to him, although Vergil waved a finger at him and he was flown backwards and landed somewhere in the woods.

"Fuck—" Dante was gasping. "No, Vergil, stop! STOP! JUST FUCKING STOP!"

His twin turned to look at him, the malice bright in his eyes. Dave's were rolling back, the whites in them spreading with blood.

"DAMMIT, JUST STOP THAT!" Dante kept screaming despite his protesting lungs. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

Vergil's hand fell back to his katana. Dave landed face-first on the grass, breathing hard. Andrew ran toward him to help him sit. His face was covered in blood and his eyes were shut tight.

Dante could hear his heart pound in his ears. Fear was pulling him back. Rage was blinding him. His fists were shaking.

"Leave them alone," he said, his voice straining. "It's me you want to kill anyway. Do it. Do it and be done with all this."

His twin stared, bored.

"If I kill you right away, that'd be no fun. There has to be torture."

"I don't give a fuck. Torture me all you want. Peel off my skin inch by inch if you have to. Just don't—don't motherfucking touch these people."

Vergil regarded him quietly. There was no other noise now except for Dave's ragged breathing. Charlie was not showing up yet. Wherever he landed, he must have lost consciousness.

"Let me tell you a story first, brother," Vergil said, doing another flick of his hand. Roots erupted from the ground beneath Dante's feet and tied themselves around his ankles and arms.

"What the—" he muttered. He tried to get them off him, although his twin waved a finger and he was forced to look at him.

"You look at me while I narrate the tale to you. It's important and I wouldn't want you to miss the best parts."

Dante spat on the grass, his eyes blazing with loathing. His arms kept tugging at the roots that bound him. Vergil ignored it all and went on,

"Once upon a time, a happy family of three lived in a big house which was settled on a peaceful neighborhood. They had a lot of friends from faraway places, and they gather in that house when they felt the need to meet and plan for what lied ahead. And this family—but of course you need to get acquainted with them. So I'll introduce you to Andrew and his lovely wife, Catherine. They have a four-year-old son named Lonan.

"They had this great secret that most people didn't know. The husband and wife were demon hunters, and were incredible ones at that. They've fought demons for years, making sure our streets were safe from them. But they also had one more secret, and it's the most dangerous one they've kept so far. They were friends with an angel and a demon. This demon had turned his back on his kind for he had fallen in love with the angel. Her name is Eva. Her lover was the king's right-hand man, Sparda. Of course you already know that the king, Mundus, was Sparda's brother. The betrayal infuriated him, causing him to hunt these lovers down. But they were protected. By none other than Andrew and this group who called themselves The Enlightenment. This group aims to rid the world of demons and all the other dark forces. They are to protect mankind, give them hope. Since then, it's what Sparda and Eva had been fighting for, as they too were infected by that great desire to rid themselves of Mundus. They had children, whom they had to protect. They had to do everything for their safety."

Vergil gave Dante a knowing look. The latter only glowered at him.

"Our parents did what they could to shield us from the wrath of the King of Demons. You see, Mundus's fury was limitless. He never rested when he hunted our parents. And when he learned that there was this group which was trying to protect them, he decided to seek them out first. It would not do him any harm. And it might be easier for him to find the traitor and his woman.

"So he found Andrew and Cathy's home where a number of The Enlightenment members met up with them. There were Charlie's and Arwin's families. They were there to celebrate Catherine's birthday despite all the war that was going on around them. They needed something to get their problems off their minds every once in a while, and Catherine's birthday was one thing. Not everyone was able to go because a lot of them were in danger of being found by Mundus, but those who could come went even if Andrew never held a party for his wife for he was also scared of the Demon King's threat. He had to protect his family first. Our parents hadn't been able to come for they were suffering the same condition too. And mind you, the day after Catherine's birthday was our seventh birthday.

"Now, we already know that the party has begun, and they were trying to be merry while Mundus loomed outside the house, preparing to kill them all. When it was time, he barged in with his army, slaying all they could, including the Beck and Dunn family. Only Charlie and Arwin survived that. When it came to the Cliffer family, however, Mundus slowed down. He knew Andrew was the leader. He knew the man had the information he needed, but he wouldn't talk unless someone he loved was threatened. So he went on to grab two people he loved the most: Lonan and Cathy.

"Andrew begged him. He begged Mundus not to harm the two. The King told him he wouldn't if he answered his question: Where were Sparda and Eva hiding? Catherine screamed 'No, don't ever tell him'. Whatever happens, he must not hand over his friends to this fiend. But she didn't understand. Her life was threatened. Their son's life was threatened. Through a river of tears, Andrew told him all that he can, giving away Paradise's location. He also told him about the protective wards on the mansion and how to remove them. Mundus was satisfied. He knew the man would not lie. He thanked Andrew then cut off Catherine's head.

"The sight was too much for Andrew to take in. He was screaming. He had given away his secret, and what did Mundus do? But he was a demon, and a king at that. He will do whatever he pleased.

"He was ever so merciless as he moved on to kill the little boy Lonan. The poor kid did not know what was going on. He only cried for his mother and father. He was lucky to have not seen how Catherine died.

"Mundus was ready to kill the little boy. He had already raised his blade on him, deaf to Andrew's cries. He had swung the blade, but it was too late. An explosion rang throughout the house. Later we'll know that Charlie caused that explosion. He was knocked unconscious for what he did, when he was escaping. But he survived. And so did poor little Lonan. Charlie saved Lonan's life. The explosion had been too much even Mundus was forced to flee, along with his army. Andrew had to run away as well for it was impossible to get to his son. But hours later, he returned. There were the authorities already, busy figuring the situation out. Lonan was never seen again. Andrew had to leave for it was time that he went to help our family. He never got there on time, however. Eva was already dead and Sparda was taken to his endless punishment. He went out to find us, but he only found me. You, Dante, had stayed in St. Lamia's Orphanage. You know what happened next."

There was a long silence as Vergil finished. He looked around his audience, letting his story sink in. Andrew was still holding on to Dave, shaking with tears. He lifted his arm and wiped it across his face. He was sobbing.

Dante had not realized he had been staring at the man all this time. He had stopped struggling against the roots. He stood there, jaws dropped, eyes wet. He looked there like a fool who got lost in the middle of a gigantic maze.

Vergil paced the ground once.

"Andrew had been searching for Lonan ever since. It was with the help of Enzo Ferino. They've been great friends since college. The search had gone for a few years' hiatus however. It had been because some of The Enlightenment members were getting murdered. They had to flee and hide. But now . . . ," he smiled wide and spread his arms, "here we are. Andrew has found Lonan. And he goes by the name of Nero for the poor kid suffered amnesia due to trauma. How ironic that it had to be him to get infected. I was supposed to use him as bait to lure you people out, but the kid did not back down without a fight. So he got what he asked for. I can't wait to see him turn."

Dante glared at him. His wrists were once again straining against the roots.

"So, brother," Vergil said. "How was my story?"

His twin did not answer. He did not even know what he was feeling. All he knew was that he wanted to get out of there and strangle any one he could get at. He did not want to think.

He wanted to kill.

"I am so sorry you had to know everything this way. But this is how it's meant to be. This is how I have meant for this to happen. If I didn't, Andrew might never have told you. At least now, you know the truth. He could have made a fool out of you forever.

"But you're going to have to forgive me because I won't be giving you a choice anymore. You've made your decision. You chose to stand against me. You won't have any time to grieve anymore. You won't have any time to go with me. I'm just here to punish you."

Dante looked at him. His heart thumped quickly against his chest. His teeth were grinding. His ears were ringing. His rage was in its highest degree. His mind was set.

"No, Vergil," he mumbled. "You're the one who turned your back on us."

Vergil's eyes flashed with momentary hatred, but they immediately shone calmly.

 _"_ _Aargh!"_

His hand clapsed around his twin's neck. Dante gasped and coughed, trying to pull away but Vergil's hold of him was too tight. He could not breathe at all. His vision was getting cloudy—

"More's the pity," Vergil sizzed derisively. "You're too blind."

"Vergil!" Andrew was shouting. "No! Stop!"

"I can't hear you, Andrew!" Vergil hissed.

Dante could not see anything at all. He could hear footsteps running toward them. There was a gasp and a thud from something that fell on the grass. Andrew yelled.

"Don't you dare use my father's xiphos on me!" Vergil snarled. "You have no right to get your filthy hand on any of his possessions!"

It was getting darker. Dante's heartbeats were slowing down. His wrists fell numbly at his sides. His knees gave way. Vergil's hold of him was the only support he had to continue standing.

"NO!" Andrew's voice echoed. "He's your brother! Don't kill him!"

It was over. He was going to die a senseless, stupid death. . . . Anytime soon, the world will be kneeling at Vergil's feet . . . and there won't be anyone to spoil his plans. The Enlightenment would not be able to stand a chance. . . . Even Raia Hwang would not be able to do anything. . . .

Dante let his eyes close. He could not fight anymore. The hands that bound his neck were too strong. Resisting would only cause more pain. . . . At least if he stopped, he wouldn't have to feel any of this again.

He was somehow glad Raia was not here. It saddened him that he wouldn't see her before he died, but at least she was out of harm's way. She wouldn't have to rage out on Vergil for Dante did what she wanted him to do: he stopped thinking about her for her sake. But his other promise . . . he wouldn't be able to keep it.

He was going to die. He'll never be able to come back to her alive.

It was horrifying to imagine what she would do without him.

Darkness embraced him. He let its arms catch him as he drifted off to a peaceful, permanent sleep. . . .

Silence. Silence rained down on him. He tried to lift his eyelids but they would not budge. His body wasn't responding. His mind protested against the lifelessness of it all. He wanted to move, but he couldn't. Was death like this? Was the afterlife like this? Just a dull, never-ending nap inside a featureless cage?

 _"_ _Dante."_

He would've jumped, but he couldn't. He ceased scrambling for the desire of movement and listened.

 _"_ _Dante . . ."_

"Who's there?" he said.

 _"_ _Don't give up. Don't give up on your brother . . . he needs to be saved. Saved from himself. Saved from dooming his life."_

He would've flinched. Gasped. Or Cried.

That voice . . . how he longed to hear that voice. . . . All that happened, every nightmare he came across . . . hearing her again meant the world to him.

"Mom?" he whispered.

 _"_ _Wake up, Dante. You have to end this. Only you can end this. There is no point in torturing Andrew. He has suffered enough. Your father and I knew the price of what we did. I don't blame Andrew for giving us up. It'll happen anyway. Mundus would've found us even if he did not threaten The Enlightenment."_

"Mom—" Dante's voice cracked. "Mom— Oh God—"

 _"_ _Wake up, my son. Before it's too late. Before Vergil goes out of his way to destroy himself."_

"I—" Dante breathed. "I can't— He's stronger than me— I've got no chance—"

 _"_ _Please, my son. The last thing I'd want for the two of you is turn against each other. Save him. Save Vergil."_

Dante cursed at his immovable body. He still cannot open his eyes.

"Mom, no— I can't go back— I can't bring him down— I don't want to go back—"

 _"_ _I love you, Dante. I love you. I love both of you."_

"No—don't leave me here— Mom— MOM! NO! _TAKE ME WITH YOU!"_

 _"_ _Good-bye."_

"No," Dante cried. "No—don't leave—Mom—"

Eva never spoke again. Silence engulfed him once more as he lay there in the darkness, fighting back his sobs.

Hours seemed to pass by as he remained there. He had fallen quiet and was fuming. He was hating on the world. He was hating on his own life. He could not do anything, could not even lift a finger. He wondered what he was supposed to do there. Could he be really dead? Or was he just there to stay until he figured things out for himself?

There was flash of light, but it disappeared.

"What—" he began.

There was another flash. Again, it vanished. Then it came back, reappearing multiple times without stopping.

"What the fuck—"

A ringing reverberated in his ears. It was too loud it hurt. He tried covering his ears but he still could not move. His head began to throb. The pain was horrible—

Images flashed across his mind. They were too fast to register—but as he watched, he realized the images were getting repetitive.

Vergil, injured and almost dying, hobbling toward their house, Paradise, and looking over their mother's grave; Vergil standing in some mysterious world, and a voice telling him that he was dead; Vergil pulling the Yamato away and letting Kat's body fall on some stone floor; Vergil battling against his own brother and beating him, taking away his amulet and closing it in his palm; Vergil walking away and leaving their mother alone while she cried; and Vergil stabbing a hollowed image of himself, taking away the same amulet that bound his neck and wearing it, giving him undeniable power.

"Stop—" Dante gasped. "Stop! Fuck—" His head was about to explode—the agony was unbearable—clearly he was not yet dead—

The images kept flashing. They weren't slowing down. They span faster and faster. They were not going to stop—it will never end—

"STOP IT!" Dante screamed.

And it did.

He opened his eyes. There were the trees. Birds were squawking. There were voices yelling. Someone was standing in front of him and was giving him a glare of immense shock.

"How—?" Vergil gasped.

Dante squinted. He looked down at his hands, surprised for he could move again. The roots that bound him have been cut.

He kept staring at his hands. They were burning. He looked around and realized the world was bathed in white and red.

 _The Devil Trigger._

He could feel his body burn, but it did not hurt him. He could feel the power run within him. He felt unstoppable. Powerful. Invincible.

He glanced up at his twin. He was still glowering at him. Dante's eyes flashed blood-red. His eyeballs turned black. Spidery, silver veins spread all over his face.

Vergil spat. "You—"

Dante met his eyes. The energy that ran through his limbs—it has been a long time since he used this power. He almost forgot how he felt everytime he used it.

"I know, Vergil," he said. "I don't plan on dying today."

* * *

Kat lifted the curtain an inch. Even the grounds' colors had toned down. The trees were no more blown by the wind, although it continued to sway so very slowly as if to enjoy the weather. The skies above have darkened but Kat could not see much further for something flew by up ahead. It was hovering above the house. She squinted her eyes to get a good look. It looked like a huge puff of smoke that was covered in black and gray.

"Kat," Nero whispered behind her. "What do you see?"

"Wait, gimme a sec," she hissed. "There's something up over there. I don't know what it is, but it's just up there, circling around."

"It could be them," Enzo muttered, limping toward the two. "A lot of them have been there hours ago. They fight a lot. It's terrifying. Are you even sure they are dead?"

"If this place is what I think it is, then they're dead."

"Can I look at them?" Nero asked.

Kat turned to him. She moved away from the windows and let him take a peek.

"Don't lift that curtain too much," she warned, tugging at the cloth as he pulled. "They might see us."

Nero observed for a while. "This is insane. Demons and angels? They're just out there fighting? Didn't they fight the rest of their lives when they were still breathing?"

"I don't think they attack each other for the sake of war anymore," Kat muttered. "They could just be . . . fighting for themselves. Or maybe they don't even know what they're doing. They're already dead and maybe they're just angry for suffering a fate like that."

"Sparda talked to Andrew about this place," Enzo said. "But he hadn't shared much info with me."

"Well, it's obvious that Andrew isn't around to help us," Nero hissed. He pulled away from the curtains to wipe the sweat from his forehead then went back to looking out. He breathed heavily. "They're like black and white clouds rocking off everywhere. Like they're not really fighting at all."

"I thought so too," Enzo said. "Until I saw them up close from that spot you're standing on."

"Can you tell me— Whoa, what on earth is _that_?"

"What is it?" Kat said.

"The angel and the demon—they're— Shit, _get down!"_ Nero backed off from the windows and pushed the other two on the floor—Kat shrieked as her knees hit the stone and an ear-splitting crash resounded all thoughout the place. There was a smashing of glass and shards littered all over them—smoke exploded in the living room—

Kat forced her eyes shut as they stung. She was coughing and all she could hear now were screeches from outside—

"Kat—" Nero's voice was barely audible. She could feel hands hauling her up. "Kat, c'mon, we'd better get back to the kitchen—"

"Quickly, before they hear us—" Enzo spat.

There were more crashes and screams as Kat got up to her feet and followed Nero and Enzo back to the kitchen. The boy swerved sideways and made for the stairs, hissing at Enzo when he protested. All of them ran up to the bedroom and bolted the door.

Kat staggered toward the bed and collapsed. She gasped for air, still coughing. She wiped her eyes furiously with her jacket sleeves then looked at her companions.

Nero sat on the floor, leaning against the dresser. Enzo stood opposite them, staring ahead.

None of them spoke. Kat listened for any noise from downstairs. So far there was nothing to be concerned about—yet—although the outside was alarming. She did not bother taking a peek from the single window of the room anymore. Hearing the disastrous clash and cries was enough to help her figure out what was going on.

They were trapped.

"What are we going to do?" Nero whispered. His hands ran through his messy white hair. "We are so fucked. How are we getting out of here?"

"Is there even a way out?" Enzo mumbled.

Both of them looked at Kat hopefully.

She avoided their eyes.

"I'm sorry. I don't know," she said. "There isn't much information about this place. All who tried getting in never came back."

Enzo buried his face in his hands.

"What is this place, really?" Nero said.

Kat dragged herself up and swung her legs on the bed. She folded up her knees.

"This dimension, the Abyss, is like an underworld for both angels and demons. It's an extension to both Heaven and Hell; kinda like the Purgatory. The only way they could open the Abyss is by using dead bodies. Corpses have this sort of energy that is only released through death. I don't know any spells that would allow us to get out of here. The Abyss emits incredible power, whatever I learned won't be any match against it."

There was a dour silence when she finished. All three of them stared into nothing as more noises echoed from below.

Kat had read about the Abyss although there wasn't much information about it. There was not even a single description about this place. Whoever wrote that book about mythical worlds either never had much experience with demons, angels or anything out of the ordinary, or there was really nothing they could take out of this dimension. Either way, she was right. None of her studies was going to help them now. She had to try what she can to find a way out of here.

Nero glowered on the floor. He wrapped his arms around himself and began rubbing his shoulders. Pursing his lips, he stood up and approached the window, fingers slowly lifting the thin curtain a few inches.

"What are you doing?" Enzo stammered.

"Trying to see if they plan to get in the house," the boy replied. "They really don't look like they've got an idea what it is they're doing. They're just strangling each other. Like . . . they're lost."

" _We_ are lost," Enzo said rather indignantly. "We have to at least try to find a way out."

"Even if we did, we'll need Dante to get out," Kat broke in. "He's Nephilim. He can easily cross worlds. We can't."

" _Dio buono_. So, what now? We'll just rot here?"

Kat shrugged.

"I don't understand," Nero said, moving back and sitting on the bed beside her. "Why would Vergil dump is in here? It's Dante he wants."

"To throw us off our focus, get rid of our numbers, maybe?" Kat said. "He went to Enzo because he knew Andrew would try to get to him. We took the bait. No offense," she added when Enzo loured at her.

"You should've taken the video as a warning," the man muttered instead. "It should have been clear enough for you."

"And it was. A lot of us were against this. Most especially Dave and Charlie. But Andrew wasn't agreeing."

"What about Arwin? He can always talk some sense into him."

Kat did not answer. In the corner of her vision she could see Nero glance her way.

"Well?"

"Of course you don't know." Kat looked away. "Arwin died a week ago. He was killed by Vergil."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Arwin's dead," Nero answered. "He went out to look for Dante and Vergil but he was killed during the mission."

Enzo sucked in a breath.

"But . . . that can't be . . . Oh God," he gasped. He blinked several times, shaking his head. "Arwin?" he mouthed with an expression as if he was witnessing something horrifying. "Killed . . . by Vergil? But they were _friends_." He took off his glasses and wiped his eyes. "My God . . ."

"That's what everyone thought," Kat said. "What I thought."

A hard, guilty feeling took over her soon as she said the words. She suppressed her tears, realizing for the first time just how crushed she was. All this time she kept to herself and avoided telling Dante what she had been feeling because she didn't want to blame him. She endured the year without talking about his brother, without mentioning his name for the past months to avoid breaking down and pointing fingers. She knew she shouldn't accuse him for it wasn't his fault that everything went haywire, but ever since Vergil disappeared, the pain that settled in the pit of her stomach took all she had to not go ahead and blame anyone she saw.

"Fuck, I can't stand this," Nero grunted angrily. He swept off the bed and paced the room, his arms around himself once more. "We have to do something. Anything. We have to get out of here. We don't know what the other guys could be facing right now."

"And what should we do, you reckon?" Enzo croaked, putting back his glasses.

Kat put her hands in her lap as she watched Nero rumple his brows together as he thought. He was rubbing his arms for the second time and she noticed that he had gone abnormally pallid. Sweat was dripping down his forehead and he seemed to be near fainting.

"Nero?" Kat called. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he answered quietly. "This shit's just getting to me." He rested against the wall and tugged his denim jacket closer to him.

Enzo stared at him too. He and Kat exchanged glances.

"Did you take your medicine with you?" the girl inquired mildly.

"Why? What's wrong with him?" Enzo said.

"I took it an hour ago," Nero grumbled. His eyes were already in a daze. "The next one should be . . . in six hours—" He fell seated on the floor.

"Nero!" Kat yelled, running toward him. She knelt by his side, running a hand on his forehead. She withdrew, panicking.

His temperature was at boiling point.

"Shit," she muttered, fumbling for his pockets. "Shit. Don't you have one with you?"

"I-I left it in Dave's car," Nero mumbled feebly. His fingers were quivering. "I thought I wasn't going to use it."

"Oh no. How are we going to treat that?"

"What's wrong with him?" Enzo asked again.

Kat looked up at him.

"He's infected. The demon poison has spread all over his body and he has to take holy water every six hours."

The man stared at her ridiculously.

"Infected?"

"Yes!" Kat hissed. They had no time for this. She needed the medicine, or else . . .

"How?"

"He was infected by Vergil! End of story!" Kat shot up to her feet. She looked around, hoping for a medicine to materialize somewhere. She had not thought of bringing one with her in case of emergency. She was so sure Nero would bring his everywhere and wouldn't leave it in a car.

If she just brought at least one . . .

"Didn't he say he just took one?" Enzo began.

She glanced at him.

"Yeah." She turned back to Nero who was panting and gripping his right arm. He was so white that pinching him would leave an angry red mark on his skin. He kept shivering and he was biting his lip to avoid yelling.

"Darn it," Kat hissed under her breath. "It's this dimension."

"What?"

"The Abyss. It's affecting him. Other angelic and demonic spirits must have sensed him. The ones downstairs would want to get to him once they feel him too."

"That's fantastic," Nero puffed out. "Can't wait to see them stampeding toward me."

"Jeez, Nero, this is no time for jokes. We don't even have a clue what will happen to you if your don't take your medicine!"

"They terminate every cell I have, pretty much. They're starting with my arm. I could feel it going up again. _Fuck!_ " Nero held his hand to his chest and grunted. He bit so hard on his lip it was already beginning to bleed.

Kat knelt beside him once more and tried to take his hand, although when she was about to touch it, the boy flinched with a yelp.

 _"_ _Don't touch me!_ It'll burn you!"

"What—?"

"Everything I touch will burn; if you do that again you might end up roasted—"

 _"_ _Mio Dio,"_ Enzo said. "What now?"

Kat only watched Nero, her mind no longer buzzing. There was no other way she could stop what was happening to him. She did not bring anything with her that would help him.

What was she supposed to do?

 _"_ _Dammit!"_ Nero squalled. "It's getting worse— It's getting damn fucking worse—!"

There was a loud thud downstairs. Voices were beginning to roar.

"They can hear us," Enzo muttered through hushed tones. "This is not good. We don't have anywhere to go and this kid's having attacks."

"You're lucky they haven't realized they can smash the window up here and climb over," Nero snapped.

Kat froze. Her hands were sweaty and were trembling badly. She wanted to cry. She was so scared and baffled it was a wonder she had not cried yet, but then she remembered she was not supposed to bawl her eyes out at situations like this. She had to think, had to plan. But that was the problem: she could not think, she could not plan. She can't even fight.

How the hell had she gotten herself in this?

"Kat."

She turned to Nero who was looking at her. He was as white as his hair now.

"Take my gun. And the daggers. You'll need that."

Kat blinked. "What?"

"Take my weapons. Give my gun to Enzo. When I say go, you guys go. You'll have to leave me."

"Are you crazy?"

"With what's happening to me? Yeah. I'm the king of crazies right now."

Kat glared at him. "No way. We're not leaving you."

The boy laughed.

"I see I infected you with my craziness." He pushed himself up, although he was still too weak to do so. Laughing had given him back a little of his color, but trying to stand drained it all away. "Goddamn it. Look at me. I'm a nuisance here. You have to leave me. We don't have that many options, do we?"

Kat shook her head at him. "No, Nero. We're not going to leave you. Not like this. Not this way. You're just a young boy and you aren't even ready for all this, and it doesn't matter! I'm not leaving!"

Nero rolled his eyes.

"Stop calling me a young boy. I'm sixteen, not ten. And in case you haven't noticed, I'm dying. Besides, all this talk's taking us longer."

Screams and crashes broke loose once more from below. The voices multiplied.

"They are coming," Enzo gasped. "It sounds like there are a lot of them."

Nero yelped again. He held his arm closer to him as if he was forcing it inside his chest.

"Just go," he gasped. He fumbled for his daggers and tossed it on Kat's side. He also took the gun from his lap and passed it to her.

"Take it," he said. "Come on. We can't really argue about this."

Kat hesitated.

"Take it! You've got no choice, and I don't have a choice either! We'll have to go downstairs, you'll have to take that backdoor I saw earlier—"

"No," Kat muttered. "No, I can't do this—"

"Fuck it, do you think I want to do this? Just take it and go! We are all going to die if you don't help me get moving!"

Tears escaped Kat's eyes. "Nero—"

Nero swore. He held on to the bed and willed himself to stand. He went to the window, propped up his elbow and hit the glass, causing it to break.

" _Ma che cazzo!_ Nero, stop!" Enzo bellowed. He dashed up to him and pulled him by the scruff of the neck, although Nero shrugged him off and yelled at the grounds, "Over here, fuckers!"

"Nero, we can still sort this out—" Kat shouted.

"Are you people blind? You are going to die because of me and I don't want that to fucking happen— _Aargh!"_

"NO!"

A glowing white figure flew inside the room and landed on a heap over Nero. The next thing Kat knew, she was looking at a tangle of limbs trying to strangle each other and Enzo was already pulling her away as another figure, this time covered in ash, was tugging at the legs of the angel who was holding Nero by the neck.

"Oh my God, no—" Kat whimpered.

"Come on," Enzo stammered, dragging her along with him to the door.

Just then Nero shouted, his words almost inaudible due to all the noise echoing everywhere.

"If you guys ever find Kyrie—tell her that I love her."

Kat sobbed.

"No—no, we can't leave him—"

"We don't have a choice!" Enzo said briskly.

Another screech echoed from the bedroom soon as the two headed for the kitchen where the backdoor was. Kat could hear Nero scream; she had to cover her mouth to stop herself from crying as she and Enzo raced outside, toward the woods. She risked one more glance at the house.

Angels and demons were flying up to the windows. There was a small explosion from the second floor and clusters of black and white smoke billowed out to the grounds, crashing and rolling and turning back to their physical forms. Flames licked the walls of the house as a figure jumped down on the grass and straightened up, facing the group of souls storming to his direction.

"Kat, we have to go!" Enzo called.

"Wait!" Kat grabbed his wrist and pointed to the lone figure walking up to the angels and demons. "Someone's fighting them— What could've happened to Nero—?"

She froze. Her eyes widened after realizing who she was looking at.

The white hair, skinny build, the denim jacket and the maroon hoodie—

"I'll be damned," Enzo choked. "But it's that kid!"

"But how—?"

Nero charged on to the swarm of souls with his right hand raised. Kat let out a gasp of shock as she stared at his hand: It was glowing a bright purple and was letting out flames. Nero drove it through a demon who jumped at him, making it wail and burst into black smoke which hurtled away and vanished.

"He's _fighting_ them," Kat said through gritted teeth.

An angel zoomed toward the boy and it was about to attack him when he turned and sidestepped; he reached out and held the angel's arm with his hand, hurling the soul upward and smashing it down on the grass, causing it to erupt into white smoke.

Kat shook her head in disbelief. She and Enzo watched, covered by the trees of the forest, witnessing Nero as he fought an angel here and a demon there, easily, possessed by his power. She kept cringing as he tore heads from their bodies, shredded limb from limb, sent souls into flames without mercy. All those who remained were beaten by the boy alone.

Kat could not take in any more of what was happening. She closed her eyes, hearing the cries of the angels and demons who were dying, once again, in this world.

And to think Nero got his power from none other than Vergil himself.

* * *

Charlie stirred and opened his eyes.

"Shit," he grunted. He looked up at the trees as his vision cleared. He could hear nothing but the rustle of leaves.

He tried to sit, and as he did so, a string of curses came tumbling out of his mouth. His back was hurting. He looked over him and saw a tree right behind him.

So that was why it hurt a lot.

He bent on all fours, forcing himself to stand. Grunting again, he held on to the tree trunk for support, finally pulling and straightening up. He leaned there for a few seconds before bending to pick his rifle up. He stared ahead of him and saw the clearing and Enzo's house.

He gulped. What was _that_?

Something was standing before Vergil, and both of them were circling each other, as if finding a perfect moment to attack. The figure was a bright red flame, and Charlie realized with a jolt that that something was Dante. He glowed so bright the light from the skies seemed dimmer. Silver veins spread on his face and his blue coat burned blood-red. His snowy-white hair blew even though the wind had just died.

Charlie took a few steps forward, seeing Andrew helping Dave get to his feet while the other angrily wiped the blood from his face. He was still pale and clammy although he seemed on the alert. The tension built up as the twins continued circling each other, both their weapons slowly rising. They were ready to attack.

"I guess fate won't let me kill you today, huh?" Vergil said. "That's too bad. I've been itching to drive my sword down your throat."

Dante growled. "Not today, bro. I won't let you."

Vergil's eyes flashed white. Dark veins also spread on his face.

"I think it's time fate stopped playing favorites," he said.

"It's time you stopped being a bag of dicks," Dante countered.

Vergil glared at him.

 _Swish!_

A bright flare of blue light dashed past Dante's ear. He did not flinch, but Charlie was grateful he had not wet his own pants. The light was from Vergil's and it appeared with a flick of his hand.

Charlie stepped carefully away from the woods, hoping to get to Andrew and Dave immediately. He didn't think Dante would want anyone to interfere. This was his brother and he would want to fight him alone.

"I shouldn't have looked for you that day, let you live your stupid way of life. I should've just acted on my own. Or I could've just killed you when Kat took you to The Order."

"Maybe you should've. It's sad you've got no chance to go back."

"I agree with you there. And it's unfair how you've always been favored. Even Mother favored you. What is it with you? You're just a good-for-nothing brat! I tried getting those thoughts away before because you are my brother. But now you just made the biggest mistake, Dante. Turning your back on me is your one great fault."

Dante ceased circling. "No, Vergil. Refusing to see what's wrong is your biggest mistake."

Vergil shot him a deadly glare. More flares shot toward Dante who blocked with the Rebellion. He charged at him and jabbed the Yamato, although his twin moved aside and shot with Ebony and Ivory.

Charlie ran at full pace to Andrew and Dave who straightened up and went to the brothers. Vergil, noticing them, glowered and all of a sudden pillars shot out from the forest floor, forming a circle, trapping him and Dante. It formed transparent walls that sizzled angrily; the other three men were forced to stop as the grass that got caught in the barrier burned.

"Fuck this," Dave hissed. "What does he want us to do, watch?"

His question seemed to have been answered when Charlie felt something hit his head. He yelled out in pain and fell flat out on the grass. He turned just in time to avoid a boot crushing his face.

A figure peered down on him. He was propelled to stare at its face as it grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.

It was a male corpse. His skin was ashen-gray; his eyes were sunken and milky-white. Most of his mouth had already decayed and were probably eaten by worms, for it revealed his brown teeth. Charlie flinched not only because of the smell but also because this corpse—he did not know how to put it—was a fallen member of The Enlightenment, Ed.

"What—" Charlie gasped. He pushed him away, slinging his rifle over his shoulder and pulling out a pair of brass knuckle knives. He ducked as Ed jumped on him. He span and punched him across the face, ruining his already messed up skin and causing him to collapse on the ground. Charlie did not wait for a second and ran his knife through his head.

He glanced back to the others, seeing Andrew fighting more figures. Dave was assisting him. He was firing with his shotgun. When the shells ran out, he snapped his weapon and a curved blade slid out from the handle. He began hacking at the nearby figures, dipping and stabbing an opponent in the ankle, pulling him to the ground. He stood up and smashed his enemy's head with his foot.

Andrew turned around and avoided a blow from another figure storming toward him. He ran his xiphos through him and kicked him away, stabbing two more corpses charging at him. He span and sliced, his assailants' heads flying away from their bodies, spurting brown blood on his face.

Charlie had no time to wipe the sweat that stung his eyes. Three other corpses (all of them people he knew) dashed toward him. He tackled the one to his left, kicking hard on his knee. The dead looked up at him. With a heavy heart, he stabbed at his temple then slid both weapons at the next one's head.

He turned to the last one charging at him. Charlie gulped.

John.

This was his roommate who died a year ago during the demon outbreak. They've been fighting back to back when greater demons spread out and went for them. John had died trying to save Charlie while he had no time at all to save himself. A Butcher demon got to him and had split him in two. Now there he was, running at full speed to his direction and Charlie could clearly see his torn body sewn together with dried blood messing up his shirt.

Charlie dodged as John's hand hurled at him, missing his head by inches.

For a dead man, John was still remarkably fast. Charlie wondered what Vergil had done to him and to all their other comrades' corpses. He could not help but hate Dante's twin with a passion for involving the dead in this fight. If he was not being a coward, then he was using the departed Enlightenment's faces to seriously injure them both physically and mentally. He had to admit that Vergil was good at tormenting people.

"Damn—" Charlie swerved and evaded another hurl from John. He kicked out and grabbed his arm, grappling him on the grass. He raised both his knives and stabbed his forehead. John stopped moving.

"Charlie!"

He turned; he speedily jumped aside, missing another corpse. He looked up and saw Dave running past him, raising his makeshift sickle and jamming it to the corpse's head.

"Thanks," Charlie said. Dave only shrugged. Both of them went to Andrew who was finishing off four more corpses. Charlie glanced at Dante's way and saw that he was gaining the fight. He was nearly cornering Vergil who dodged his sword and thrust his Yamato at him. Dante blocked, ramming his knee on his twin.

"We gotta do something about that," Dave said. "We have to smash that barrier down."

Charlie pursed his lips. "How?"

* * *

Vergil was panting. He glared at his twin as he approached him slowly, the Rebellion raised against his chest.

"You're going to kill me, Dante?" Vergil sneered. "Just like you did before?"

Dante only stood watching him, never lowering his sword. He gave him a cold stare and said, "Where did you take them? Kat and Nero? Enzo?"

Vergil sniggered. "I'm sure you'll find out soon."

"I said," the Rebellion tore through the fabric of his coat, " _where_ did you take them?"

"All in good time, brother."

Dante's eyes flashed wickedly. "I saw images before I woke up. And they were all about you. You killed Kat, then me, and you left Mom crying. What does that mean?"

Vergil was smug. "Oh. Then I guess our mother was able to talk to you?"

He did not answer. The other straightened up and gave him a taunting smile.

"Let's just say I faced my demons and conquered them. I woke up to realization, which you failed to do."

"What were those images? Were they real?"

"Of course they're real. I would not be standing here today if they never happened."

"Where were you?"

Vergil's eyes brightened up.

"Hell," he said.

"Hell?"

"Surprise, Dante. I died but came back to tell the tale." Vergil carefully stepped away from the Rebellion's tip and began to walk around his brother in a circle. "You killed me. After I left you and Kat, I went back to our home. I woke up in a different place. I can hear Mother's voice and she told me to 'follow the light.' I did. I got rid of you and Kat, and there I gained my power. Mother knew what I had done and she would not accept it, so I left her."

Dante could've sworn he felt an anchor slide down his insides.

"Mom? You saw Mom in Hell and you _left_ her?"

"What would you have me do?"

 _"_ _Fuck you!"_ Dante charged at him and swung his sword, although Vergil moved away; Dante tried again, reaching out and grabbing his twin by the arm. He kicked him and flung him on the grass, hissing, "God, I don't know what the fuck I can do to you—you are a fucking monster—"

Vergil growled at him.

"And do you even think she'd want to be around me when she clearly despises all I have done—?"

 _"_ _You could've saved her!"_ Dante bellowed. "You are sick, Vergil. You are fucking sick in your goddamned head!" He raised his fist; Vergil kicked out at him and it was his turn to fall on the grass. Dante was so angry he had not realized that his brother grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and shoved him on the barrier wall—

He screamed in agony. He could feel his back burn. All his power quickly disappeared and he was no longer glowing red and white. He fell face-first on the ground, his coat covered in flames.

He could hear Vergil laugh.

"You hadn't really changed, have you, big brother? You may want to go easy on your anger there."

Dante grabbed handfuls of grass and gripped them. He glanced up at Vergil, throwing him a look of hatred. The flames on his coat slowly died. He forced himself to stand, taking up the Rebellion by his side.

"You should stop," he uttered weakly. "You have to stop."

"No, Dante. It's too late. You are the one who should stop."

"Are you hearing yourself? You're insane!"

"I hear myself perfectly. Can you?"

Dante glared at him. He still could not contain his anger and he wanted to punch him with all his might, but what just happened kept him in check.

"This isn't fair. It's not my fault things had to go this way. You did this to yourself. I gave you a chance to make you stop this shit you started—"

"Wake up, Dante! You are the one who brought this on me! I wasted the past years searching for you, I helped you remember who you truly are, I always listened to what you had to say, I let you sacrifice our chance to get Mundus just so you can save Kat! And when the war with him was over, you chose to stand against me instead of moving aside and letting me rule alone! We are brothers. We were supposed to be together in this, and what did you do? You turned your back on me! So now, I don't care what I am doing to you! Hell, I'm enjoying this. I want you to suffer. I want you to pay. I want all of you to pay—"

"And Nero? What has he got to do with this? He didn't have to be a part of this—"

"Being Andrew Cliffer's son is enough reason for me to involve him in this. I don't even want to talk to you anymore." Vergil readied the Yamato. "Let's just get this over with."

"Vergil," Dante snapped. "Stop this. You have to listen me, there is no coming back from this—"

"I'm done listening to you, brother. I don't have plans on coming back."

"Vergil—"

"Shut up!" Vergil dashed and thrust his sword at him; Dante flung the Rebellion and their blades clashed—the Yamato flew upward, giving him an opening: he brought up his fist, hitting Vergil across the face who was pushed back, almost crashing on the barrier wall. He quickly steadied himself and looked him in the eyes; in a flash he disappeared, but Dante was prepared: he turned around and found his twin jabbing his weapon at him—Dante span and kicked out, although Vergil was faster this time—he grabbed his brother's ankle, twisting it. Dante yelped in pain.

"Let go of me!" he hissed, pulling out Ebony and firing at his face. Vergil, forced to release him, jumped to the left and threw a knife to his direction. Dante ducked, replacing Rebellion on his back and firing with both his guns. His opponent evaded and the barrier was hit instead.

Dante stopped shooting. He saw the spot where he was thrown against and noticed the cracks where his back had been. Beside it was the area where his bullets hit. More cracks appeared on the wall.

Vergil had not made the barrier strong enough.

And he noticed it too. He swore.

Dante fired again, this time at the walls.

"Damn," Vergil hissed. Bursts of blue light shaped like swords appeared on either side of his head, and one by one, they rushed toward Dante who rolled sideways, missing all of the sword replicas. He took up Rebellion and went to the wall, stabbing it on its middle. The blade caused more cracks. Dante tried again, and it went through the barrier.

"You piece of shit—" Vergil snapped, reappearing at his brother's side and folding his free arm around his neck. Dante gasped, bent down and threw Vergil on the ground.

 _CRASH!_

Smoke slowly dissipated outside the walls as the two looked around. Dave, Charlie and Andrew were standing feet from them, watching as the barrier broke like glass and collapsed, the fragments fluttering everywhere burning the grass.

Vergil growled angrily. He lifted his hand, beckoning to the three approaching them. Dante stood up, about to charge when his twin flicked his wrist but gasped in pain.

Vergil clutched his rib. Dante was onto him again, now setting back the Rebellion on its place. He took hold of his brother's shoulder and turned him around—they were once again exchanging blows, locked in hand-to-hand combat. Dante kept hitting Vergil as the other could only block with his arms, wincing at each punch.

Dante was about to throw another hit when Vergil blocked him with his arm and teleported behind him, jabbing his back with his sheathed sword. Dante was pushed forward and almost stumbled, quickly regaining his balance; Charlie ran past him and went to the other twin to attack, but as he swiped his knives, Vergil caught his hand and kicked him full on the stomach. Dave came next and hacked although the opponent merely elbowed him right in the face and shoved Andrew aside. He was onto Dante again who span, guns ready to shoot when he vanished and materialized beside him once more, hitting the Yamato's scabbard on the side of his head.

Dante held his hit temple. He was bent over, trying to clear his vision when he felt another blow throw him on the ground. He twisted to look up and saw Vergil's blurry silhouette gazing down at him and his raised hand glowing a faint blue. He could hear him catch his breath and see his other hand which held his sword clutch his side. He was going to attack again—

Vergil jerked and grunted—he span and Dante could see a knife buried deep on his left shoulder—his twin walked away from him and vanished.

"Andrew! No!" He heard Dave yell.

Dante pushed himself up on his elbows, his burned back and aching muscles screaming in protest. He shut his eyes and opened them to clear his vision, and when it did, he could only watch.

Vergil and Andrew were fighting this time. For a man his age, Andrew still fought swiftly and fluidly but his enemy was even faster and stronger than he was. He tightened his grip on his xiphos and lobbed it on Vergil who swung it away with an arc of his Yamato and lifted up his knee, hitting Andrew on the ribs; he stepped back while the younger man went on him and ran him through with his katana—

 _"_ _NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"_ Charlie thundered.

Dante paled. Without noticing it, he was already up on his feet and was running toward the two when Vergil raised his free hand which was glowing again—he used it to hold Andrew by the shoulder and squeezed, the light letting out flames which dissolved on the man's skin.

Andrew cried out an ear-splitting scream.

"No— No, no, no— GOD, NO!" Dave yelled.

Vergil pushed Andrew away and let him fall down. He glared at the three sprinting to their direction. He beckoned his still-illumed hand to them and roots erupted from the ground, tying themselves on their ankles, causing them all to trip.

"Motherfucker! I'm going to kill you! _I'm going to fuckin' kill you!"_ Charlie bellowed.

"Vergil!" Dante shouted. "Vergil, get your ass back here—"

Vergil turned his back on them, pulling the knife from his shoulder and tossing it away. He swung his sword and blue flames formed a circular door before him. With one glance to them, he stepped inside the portal and vanished along with it.

Dante clenched his fists. He screamed out furiously and thumped on the ground.

 _Fuck!_ his mind cried.

He grabbed Ebony and shot the roots binding his ankles. He also shot the ones tying Dave and Charlie then he went toward Andrew and knelt at his side.

The man had already lost consciousness. All the color was drained from him and he was covered in sweat; his torso was bathed in blood and so was his right jacket sleeve. Dante looked down on his hand. He felt sick.

The skin was gone. The exposed flesh kept leaking blood.

"No. _No."_

Dante glanced around and saw Dave behind him. His hands were on his head and he was sobbing.

It was over. It was all over.


	13. 11 - Lackluster

ELEVEN

 **Lackluster**

" **What is he doing?"** Enzo muttered behind Kat.

Nero threw one more demon away as it dissolved into smoke. He stood there, alone, looking around him. Kat could not see his face, but with his current state, she could just tell that he has not returned to normal. His right hand was also still burning brightly.

"I think we should approach him—"

"What, are you crazy?" Enzo hissed. "He just got rid of a bunch of dead angels and demons, what d'you even think he'd do to us once he sees us—"

"I know!" Kat snarled. "I'm not stupid. But I have to talk to him, it happened to Dante once and he listened to me—"

"Kat, no!" Enzo pulled her back once she began to move. "It's too dangerous. Look at him. There's nothing we can do—"

Kat glared at him. He went quiet.

"I know he's dangerous, but we can't let him go on like this. He needs help. He needs us."

Enzo shook his head but said nothing. Kat snatched her arm back and moved away from him.

 _"_ _Kat!"_

"Keep quiet!" Kat mouthed angrily. She pressed a finger on her lips and stepped on, ignoring Enzo's muted protests. Carefully she tiptoed out the woods, slowly approaching Nero who felt her presence and snapped his head to her direction.

She froze. The two stared at each other. Nero's eyeballs were glowing purple, the irises blood-red. He tilted his head to the side, like an animal looking at something it found curious. He turned to her but did not do anything else.

"Nero . . . ?" Kat said quietly. "Can you hear me?"

The boy did not answer.

"Nero," she tried again. "It's me. Kat. It's okay. It's over now. You can relax." She took a small step forward—Nero suddenly jumped back and glowered.

Kat halted. She could hear nothing but the beats of her panicked heart; the boy must have sensed it for he gritted his teeth and span, running away from her.

"Nero! Come back!" She ran after him as he stormed in the woods but stopped immediately—the trees abruptly bent themselves and grime covered the way Nero came from.

 _"_ _Shit!"_ Kat hissed. She looked around, spotting Enzo running laboriously toward her.

"What was that about?" he said, stopping before her and gasping for breath.

"I have no idea," Kat said. She bit her fingernails and thought. She glanced back on the trees. Where they hid was the only way they could get through. Enzo might know the path, but if this dimension acts like Limbo, the boy might be impossible to find.

"We can't leave him to himself. Not this time," she snapped when the man opened his mouth to speak. "We don't even know how this dimension works. I'm not abandoning that kid."

"Fine," Enzo sighed bitterly. "Like there's anything I can do to stop you. But where on earth would he— _Mio Dio,"_ he gasped. He had glanced upwards and faltered in his speech, his mouth hanging open.

"What?" Kat said.

He only pointed up to the sky. She looked up. It felt as if a brick had slid down her stomach.

There were no clouds. There was no sun, but up on where the skies should be was the ocean floating above them. It loomed hundreds of thousands of feet over them and it seemed like a dull, cloudy sky at first, but on second glance it was easy to see a vast expanse of water and on the surface was the reflection of the world below it. The mirror reflection was purely black and white. The waters moved in huge ripples as if they were touched, but they did not rain down on the earth.

Enzo was muttering to himself.

"Just where the hell are we . . . ?"

Kat shook her head weakly.

"I think this place is worse than hell," she said.

* * *

Raia pulled her headphones away and listened to Nelly's squeals outside. She put her sketchpad, phone and headphones aside and went for the door. She saw the little girl run downstairs, saying, "They're back! They're back!" Lucia's bedroom door opened and she also looked out, seeing Raia glancing at her.

"I hear the cars," she mumbled.

Raia began to sprint out her room and down to the first floor with the woman behind her. Nelly had already thrown open the front door and ran outside. Raia also went after her and stopped by the porch, her eyes squinting due to the orange sky.

The two cars pulled up next to her pickup truck. From Dave's Yaris Dante stepped out, straightening up to look at the cabin. Raia flinched: He was covered in so much blood and filth. He was no longer wearing his coat, leaving him in his tank top and jeans. His face was contorted in a crestfallen gaze. When he found her he only stared and looked as if he wanted to cry.

From Charlie's Focus Charlie himself and Dave got out, helping a bent figure to stand. Raia approached them and saw to her horror that it was Andrew and he looked even worse than the other guys.

 _"_ _Oh mon Dieu,"_ Lucia sucked in a breath. "What happened—?"

"Open that door!" Charlie yelled. The three passed by Nelly who watched and began to whimper; Raia went to her and carried her immediately in her arms while Lucia ran for the front door and held it open for Charlie, Dave and Andrew as they helped the old man inside. All of them disappeared within, Lucia shutting the door.

"Raia," Nelly sobbed. "What happened to Andrew?"

Raia stared at her. She bit her lip and shook her head. She turned around and found Dante just staring ahead. She went to him and took his wrist.

"We have to get inside," she whispered. "Come on."

Dante did not say anything. She pulled him and they went back to the cabin. Raia set Nelly down and told her to stay in the kitchen; she didn't think it'd be good for the little girl to stay up on the second floor while the others tried to fix Andrew and she could hear everything.

Raia left Dante as he sat on the couch facing the fireplace and went upstairs, seeing Andrew's bedroom door open. She looked in.

Dave and Charlie were standing by the threshold. They turned to her while Lucia flung Andrew's jacket on a nearby chair, examining his bandaged arm.

"Charlie, get my kit," she said. "It's on my bedside table."

The man went out without a word, later returning with a first aid kit. He laid it on the drawer near the bed. Lucia turned to it and took out a pair of scissors, going back to Andrew.

"Dave, Raia, I will need you to clear the room," she muttered. "Charlie, I'll need you here; I might need you to get more stuff for me."

Dave and Raia walked out of the room and closed the door. Dave leaned against the wall and rubbed his face.

"Dave," Raia began. "What the hell happened? Where's Nero and Kat? Did you find Enzo? What happened to Andrew?"

His hands fell to his sides. He looked at her, his eyes red.

"Vergil. Vergil showed up and attacked us. I don't know where he took Kat, and Nero, and Enzo—"

 _"_ _What?"_

"It just happened. We can't even beat him. He's too strong, we can't fight him— He almost killed Dante. It was the three of us against him and we couldn't even get rid of him even though his brother was with us, then he attacked Andrew and infected him—"

"Oh my God," Raia clapped her hands to her mouth. "He _infected_ —?"

"Kat and Nero were just gone, we couldn't find them, Andrew was dying and we didn't know what to do. We couldn't do _anything_ ," Dave sobbed bitterly. "It was indeed a trap and we fell for it—we fucking fell for it—"

Raia went toward him and wrapped her arms around him. He continued to cry on her shoulder, unable to stop muttering and blaming himself.

"We shouldn't have gone there. We shouldn't have fucking gone there—"

"You didn't know what would happen," Raia whispered. She pulled away from him and squeezed his hands. "You only did what you had to."

Dave angrily wiped his bloody arms on his face, leaving smears on his forehead. He glowered on the floor and muttered, "No. No. Fuck this." He walked away from her and turned to his bedroom, heading inside and slamming the door shut.

Raia gazed after him. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and went back to the first floor, seeing Dante on the same state she left him in. He was still staring at the dying fireplace and his elbows were rested on his knees.

She sat beside him. She winced as she saw him tremble from head to foot. His fingers were shivering badly. She reached out and took his hand in hers. He didn't turn. She only looked at him and saw tears streaking down his blood-drenched face.

"We have to get you cleaned up," Raia muttered. "Your injuries might not heal right away."

Dante did not reply.

Raia sighed. She lifted her hand and wiped another tear from his cheek. Her eyes caught something. She looked at his back and she held her breath.

The skin was burnt and bleeding and the fabric of his top was soaking with blood; it was regenerating so very slowly she feared it might never heal.

"Dante—your back—"

"I'm fine," he finally began. His voice was hoarse.

Raia glared at him.

"I'll help you clean this up—"

"I'm _fine,"_ he repeated irritably. He withdrew his hands from her and stood, heading up to the second floor.

Raia swore. She went after him, storming in his room for he left the door open. She saw him look out the window and lean his head against the glass. She couldn't stand the sight of his burnt back. She strode toward him although he hissed again.

"Leave me alone," he said.

"Look. Dave told me what happened. You have to stop blaming yourselves, all of you—"

"You didn't understand what happened. You have no idea what he did to me, what happened did to me—"

"I know I don't. I'm regretting that I did not go with you guys. But you can't do this, you can't push me away— None of us knew something like this was bound to happen—"

"Don't even talk as if you know what the fuck is happening!" Dante snapped, facing her. He approached her, his gaze furious and terrifying—Raia was forced to step back—

"My brother almost killed me. I was out for hell-knows-how-long and I heard my mom begging me to save him even though I didn't want to come back—then I wake up and I couldn't do anything right, and I just let him infect Andrew and now his son is missing and both of them are dying—"

"Son?" Raia echoed. "Andrew has a son?"

Dante paused. He shook his head, turning away from her again.

"Dante, what is this? Who's Andrew's son?"

"Nero," he mumbled. "Nero is Andrew's son."

Raia's jaws dropped. "What? How . . . how long did you know?"

"Just today. Vergil told me. Andrew lost Nero the night before Mundus attacked my parents. Andrew sold our location just so he could save his family—"

The girl shook her head. "How—?"

"Mundus found them that night and was about to slaughter every single one of 'em when they were interrupted. There was an explosion and Charlie caused it; it saved Nero but Andrew's wife was murdered; Andrew was forced to leave, then he looked for his son the next day but he lost him—years later he found the kid was in an orphanage but left him to it—"

"Who else knows this?" Raia asked. She watched as Dante paced the room.

"Dave knew the other day. Andrew was forced to tell him so that he could persuade us to come and get Enzo." He halted. He looked at her. "Arwin knew it too. He and Andrew found Nero in the orphanage. He's known it for years. Dave explained it to me."

Raia only watched him as he continued to pace the room. She could see his fists shaking and his face was turning red with anger.

"Why didn't he tell us? He's been keeping this secret for years and Arwin could have been suffering because of this while he was alive—"

"How would I fucking know?" Dante hissed. _"_ _Dammit!"_ He grabbed a chair and flung it across the room, causing a sickening crash and thud.

"Dante—you have to stop—"

"No! You don't get to tell me to stop! NO ONE GETS TO TELL ME WHAT THE FUCK TO DO! I DON'T FUCKING KNOW WHO TO TRUST ANYMORE AND I HATE ANDREW TO THE VERY LAST BIT BUT I CAN'T TURN MY BACK ON HIM BECAUSE IT'S MY BROTHER WHO'S THE REAL ENEMY AND I DON'T FUCKING KNOW WHERE TO GO AND NOW KAT IS MISSING AND SHE'S THE ONLY ONE I COULD TRUST RIGHT NOW BUT SHE COULD BE DEAD FOR ALL I KNOW—"

"Dante—"

"I JUST FEEL FUCKING STUPID AND NOBODY CARES WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING TO ME BECAUSE THEY KEEP HIDING SECRETS FROM ME! THEY REALLY DON'T BOTHER MAKING ME UNDERSTAND BECAUSE THEY JUST THINK I WILL END UP LIKE MY BROTHER—"

"Dante, _you have to shut the fuck up!"_ Raia screeched. Dante suddenly went quiet. He was breathing hard and he was glaring at her.

"What are you expecting me to do?" he hissed. "My brother just attacked us. I can't do anything. I swore that I'll protect everyone but I can't do anything right and I am fucking useless—Vergil just shoved it right to my face and there is just nothing to do but watch—" His voice cracked. He backed away and leaned flat on the wall. He slid on the floor and sat, gazing at his boots and gripping his hair. "I hate this. I fucking hate this. I should've never gone back, I should've just let him kill me and I shouldn't have listened to my mom for telling me to come back and save him—"

"Dante, please—" Raia stammered. She went toward him and knelt in front of him, pulling him to her and folding her arms around his neck. His head rested on her chest and his own arms found themselves around her. There he began to cry.

* * *

Lucia looked around and found Charlie entering the room. He had changed in one of his black shirts and the scar on his forehead was already treated. He had also taken off his bandanna, making his sandy-brown hair curl down his ears and his eyes. He sat on the chair by Andrew's bed, looking down at the broken man who was still unconsicious, his right arm up to the shoulders covered in bandages and so was his torso.

"His infection is worse," Lucia said. "All the skin on his shoulders had been peeled off. I'm not sure if he's going to turn or not; his state is just worse than Nero's."

"The drive back was five hours," Charlie said. "If the poison rejects you, you die within five hours. He didn't. He's gonna turn."

"No, I just don't think he will. And there is his stab wound. It's showing even more complications than it should. It was Vergil's weapon that hit the flesh. It won't be getting any better soon."

Charlie looked away. Lucia could see his fists ball up and shake. He lowered his head and buried his face in his hands, later sweeping back his hair from his eyes.

"I don't wanna blame him but he didn't listen to us," he mumbled. "And Dave listened to him too. Now he's got himself in this. Kat and that kid Nero are missin' and there is no way they're gonna be found."

"Charlie, don't say that—"

"What am I supposed to say? I'm glad he got into this so I could make my point?"

"No—"

"This is fucked up. And what we learned today, about him and his secret—"

Lucia stared at him. She frowned.

"Secret? What secret?"

Charlie gulped.

"Nero. He's Lonan."

"Lonan? Lonan as in Andrew's son? The one you told me years ago who died the night Mundus attacked your people?"

"Apparently, yeah," Charlie said. "He lied. Arwin knew about this but Andrew made it clear that he shouldn't tell anyone."

"And does Nero know that Andrew is his father?" Lucia could not believe her ears. She was now looking at Andrew as if she never knew him at all.

"No," Charlie replied. "He didn't think Lonan's gonna be proud if he knew what his dad had done. Dave knew the other day and he explained it to me, and Dante. His reaction was even worse."

"So . . . what, is this the reason why Vergil turned against us? Against him?" Lucia pointed to Andrew. "Is this why he left?"

Charlie nodded sourly. "It drove him furious. Andrew sold his parents to save Cathy and the kid. I see where Andrew is comin' from, but to hide it from us, from the twins—now this is happenin' to us. And here, his son's missin'. Nero's never gonna even know he's actually met his dad."

Lucia sunk on the armchair behind her. She was shaking her head. She tried hard not to let her right eye water, but it just came out and she fought not to whimper.

"Why?" she mumbled. "Why?"

She wiped her face with her sleeve, sniffling. She could feel hands grasp her knees and she looked up, seeing Charlie kneeling in front of her. Even his eyes were red.

"I don't think I can handle another loss," she murmured. "I've lost my whole clan to _that demon_ , I've lost so many friends in this group, then Arwin, now Andrew—"

"I know," Charlie whispered. He took her hands and held them to his face. Lucia could feel his tears in her palms. She wiped them with her thumb. Charlie turned his face and kissed her hand, his stubble grazing her skin.

"It's a good thing you didn't come with us," he said gently. "What Vergil did, they're too much. He's usin' corpses. Our friends' corpses, just like he did Arwin's. If they got to you— If _he_ got to you—"

"Don't." Lucia bent over him and pressed her lips against his. Charlie gasped but he returned her kiss, his hand slowly brushing through her wavy red hair. She pulled away and sniffled again, letting Charlie rest his head on her knees.

* * *

Nero whipped the branches off his face, turning and glancing everywhere. His vision was blurry and all he could make out were dark-red shapes. He wanted to scream but he couldn't. He kept running until his legs hurt; he could feel the power from his arm vanish. He halted at last, panting. He knelt down, shaking. His head leaned against a tree trunk as he drew breath.

He closed his eyes. He hugged himself as he continued to shiver as if he was cold. He was so drenched in sweat he could just feel his maroon sweater cling to his torso, and strands of his hair were plastered on his forehead and cheeks. He opened his eyes and stared down his right arm. The glow was slowly dying and his vision was starting clear; the dark-red colors were finally adjusting to the dullness of the Abyss.

Nero shifted in his seat on the ground. He folded up his knees and wrapped his arms around them. His teeth were chattering. He had never been so afraid his entire life.

He could remember everything that happened. How he ripped those angels' and demons' heads off, how he felt so glorious and unbeatable while his power awoke. He could recall how he _loved_ it, enjoyed it while it lasted. He hated how the demonic energy that ran within him made him witness everything he had done during those nighmarish minutes—he wished he could take them off his mind, forget them, but it seemed that this power—this curse—wanted to torment him in every way possible. He was glad Kat and Enzo got away before he could hurt them, however. He didn't know what he would do if he ever laid his hands on them. He was also glad he got to resist the temptation of hurting Kat—just the very thought of what he would have done to her made his skin prickle.

Nero thought of _her_ , then. What would she do if she saw how he was, how this illness affected him? Would she still care about him? Or would she call him a monster?

Is she still alive?

Nero shook his head. She had to be alive. George offered her to him, to Vergil. Whatever it was she had, he prayed it was important enough to keep her breathing until he could save her. Until the others could save her if he dies in this place.

He cursed. It seemed he'll never be able to see her again. Vergil made everything go to hell. Vergil ruined his life. George had his part in this, but if Sparda's son was never made king, he would have continued to live with her. Vergil was the monster. He will always be the monster. Nero could not help but also blame Dante for being unable to stop his brother from dooming himself. If only Dante had killed him that day like the others said, then life would not hurt so much. His parents already abandoned him, they never wanted him; why would anyone take him away from the orphanage where he felt happy and contented?

Nero jumped. He could screeches again. There was that same stabbing pain in his arm.

 _Not again._

Forcing himself to stand, Nero began to dash away from the source of the noise. He had to get somewhere, to a house maybe—anywhere that would take him far away from the souls of this place.

He partly hoped he would find Kat and Enzo, but in his condition—he'd rather be alone than get the chance of hurting either one of them, or both.

He didn't think he'd waste the last moments of his life rotting away in an unknown world where no one could help him.

* * *

Dante closed the bathroom door. He folded up the sleeves of his shirt and began drying his hair with his towel. He walked back to the kitchen and toward the fridge, taking a bottle of beer. He dumped his towel on the dining table and went off to the living room where he saw Nelly seated on the couch in front of the fireplace.

The little girl turned to look up at him. Her large brown eyes were red and puffy.

Dante felt a pang of guilt. He hadn't done anything but seeing her in this condition made him wince. He sat beside her and placed the beer bottle beside his legs so she wouldn't see it.

"Hey," he began. "Are you okay?"

Nelly shook her head. She rubbed her small hands on her face and sniffed.

"I wanna see Andrew, but Lucia won't let me. Davey is locked up in his room and he won't let me see him too. I know what's happening. I know Kat and Nero are missing but why are they trying to push me away? I didn't do anything wrong."

Dante could only stare at her. He bit his lip and looked away, unable to think of anything to say.

"I know I'm young," Nelly went on, "but I've been here for months. I understand what's going on. I hate that they're hiding everything from me."

"Kid, I know," Dante muttered. He turned back to her and ruffled her hair. "It's just . . . it's not easy. No one's pushing you away. No one is hiding this from you because you're too young. They—we—are doing this because we don't you to feel what we feel. It's really hard on us. We can't let you carry the burden too. We can't let you feel that pain. We want you to sleep as peacefully as possible 'cause most of us haven't been sleeping for days. You shouldn't get there. It's even worse than you could imagine."

"How?"

"Like . . . I hate to tell you this, Nell, but it's just bad. Really bad."

Nelly's eyebrows knitted together.

"You haven't been sleeping too?"

Dante grimaced. "The only day I ever got to sleep was when we came back from my house. But these past few days, I've always been wide awake. So yeah. No rest for me."

"It's that bad?"

"Yeah."

"Why don't you take a rest then?" Nelly asked, reaching out and feeling for his forehead. Dante fought back a chuckle and said,

"I wish I could. A lot happened today. I'm tired but sleeping's not gonna cut it, and besides, it's not gonna work."

The little girl pulled away and looked at him sadly. Dante felt another guilty hit. Before he could stop himself he raised his hand and pinched her nose.

"Come on, kid, don't give me that look. It makes me sad too, you know."

Nelly gave a small grunt. She turned back to the fireplace. "I just wanna see Andrew and Davey now. I wanna see Nero and Kat too but they're not around. When are you guys coming out to get them back?"

Dante stared at her. He restrained himself from giving a sigh and said simply, "Soon, Nelly. We're going to save them and get them back soon."

"Really?"

"Really."

The little girl made a smile but Dante could see that she was forcing it. He knew he did not sound convincing although to see her not believing him made him feel disappointed at himself.

"Nell. I promise. I'm going to get them back. Hopefully Enzo's still alive so I could save him too."

Nelly looked up at him. She sniffled, mumbling, "Okay. I know you can save them."

Dante smiled subtly. With one last pinch of her nose he grabbed his beer bottle and made for the door, going out the cabin and taking a sip of his drink.

He totally forgot to ask Nelly where Raia was, although he already guessed where she could be. Making his way to the forest, he slipped a hand in one of his jeans pockets but abruptly stopped.

Dave's car keys were still inside the pockets. He could recall the smell of his car while he drove the way back to the cabin, and they strongly stank of cigarettes. He could also remember seeing an extra pack of them in his compartment when Dave took his gun, and he had been tempted to take one earlier although they had been too busy figuring out what to do when they reached Enzo's house.

 _Slipped my mind_ , he thought. He then turned and headed to Dave's car, taking out his keys. He clambered inside the passenger's seat, setting his beer between his feet and opening the compartment, seeing the same pack of cigarettes resting peacefully beside a box of matches and crumpled papers.

Dante eyed the papers. He had not seen them earlier, although it could've been because he was too busy trying to stop himself from grabbing the pack. He took the box of matches first and took one out, lighting it up and taking a cigar from the pack. He threw the dead match out the window and sticking the cigarette between his teeth, he began to inhale the smoke, slowly breathing out. He watched as the smoke disappeared against the windshield. He leaned back on his seat and stared at the trees for minutes. He simply sat there and smoked, savoring the quiet.

His eyes fell back on the crumpled papers. Without thinking twice he grabbed the nearest one and unfolded it, smoothing it on his lap. There were a couple paragraphs written in capitalized handwriting that would have been neat if there weren't blots and scratches covering each word every now and then.

ANDREW FINALLY TOLD ME THE TRUTH. SO THAT WAS WHY HE'D BEEN ACTING WEIRD. I HAD NO IDEA HOW FUCKED UP HIS SITUATION WAS. WHAT IS EVEN WORSE IS THAT HE NEVER BOTHERED TELLING ANYONE THE TRUTH

SURE, HE TOLD TWO PEOPLE ABOUT THIS. THE SECOND GUY KILLED THE FIRST ONE AND NOW HE IS TRYING TO KILL US ALL, AND I CAN'T HELP BUT HATE ANDREW TO THE VERY CORE AND NONE OF US KNOWS IF WE'RE GONNA SURVIVE AND LIVE TO TELL THE TALE. SHIT, I TRUSTED HIM. SHIT, I LOOKED UP AT HIM BECAUSE HE WAS A GOOD MAN. I LOOKED UP AT HIM LIKE HE WAS MY FATHER, BUT WHAT HE DID, I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW I'M SUPPOSED TO DO THIS, KEEP THIS FROM THE OTHERS, FROM DANTE. KAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN NICE TO ME AND I WANTED TO TELL HER THE TRUTH, BUT WHAT WOULD THAT CAUSE, IT WON'T MAKE THIS SHIT ANY BETTER

GODDAMMIT FUCK ALL OF THIS I FUCKING HATE THIS

Dante crumpled the paper. He threw it back in the compartment wishing he hadn't bothered himself with it. Downing his beer in quick gulps he then climbed out of the car, about to head back to the cabin with his cigarette and bottle when he heard a voice.

"Were you planning to leave?"

He turned. Raia was walking toward him. She stopped feet from him and was giving him a suspicious glare.

Dante shrugged.

"No, I wasn't," he replied quietly. "Just remembered Dave's cigar pack. I still have his keys."

Raia raised an eyebrow but did not say a word. Dante whirled away and resumed walking.

"Are you trying to avoid me?"

He halted. He pulled the cigarette from his lips and held it steady in his fingers. He could not bring himself to look back at her. He feared he would only break down once more if he ever looked straight at her face.

The girl went on, "You told me to leave you alone. I did. I wanted to give you your time to think, but what just went on today—don't do this, demon boy. I'm here for you. Don't—don't push me away."

Dante gulped. He didn't want to look back. Not now.

 _Just go_ , his mind screamed.

"Dante," Raia said again. "Say something. Don't do this to me. I was worried sick about you."

"I have to be alone," Dante muttered. "Can't you see that?"

"No," the girl snapped. "I can't see that at all. I don't see it one bit. All I see is a broken guy who has no single idea what to do anymore."

That was it. Dante craned back to look at her and he thought his heart would fail—she wasn't crying but she looked so torn apart. Letting go of both his cigarette and beer bottle he quickly approached her, holding her by the face and kissing her full on the mouth.

Raia gasped in shock but she did not pull away. He could feel her stiffen. Soon she leaned against him and returned his kiss, her hands finding their way around his neck. His arms travelled down her spine and he grabbed her by the waist, and he was feeling so dizzy he could only let out a moan. Raia softly bit his lower lip, her fingers twirling in his hair. God, she tasted so sweet. He can't help it. He wanted her. He wanted nothing but her—

Dante pulled away, breathing hard. He took a few steps back from her and he saw her looking at him as if she could not believe what she was seeing.

"I—" he stammered.

Raia turned a bright red.

"I'm sorry," Dante gasped out. "I don't—I don't want you to think I'm taking advantage of you—"

"You're not," the girl said. "Dante—"

"No," he backed away again. He turned from her and picked up his beer bottle, walking back to the cabin.

"But—" Raia was saying. "Dante—no, please—"

Dante kept going. He could hear her calling him although he never stopped until he was already on the porch and the door suddenly opened, revealing Lucia.

"Oh," she said. "I— Are you all right?"

He gulped again.

"Yeah," he stammered. "I think so."

Lucia examined him for seconds before she spoke. "I still can't believe this, but Andrew is awake. He wishes to speak to you."

"Awake?" Dante echoed. "Already? Didn't it take Nero months to wake up?"

"Yes. But there he is in his room. Wide awake. Charlie is still there making sure he is doing good, but he's been asking us to tell you that he wants a word."

"I . . . Okay. Okay, I'll go talk to him."

Lucia stared past him. Frowning, she said, "Were the two of you arguing?"

Dante looked over his shoulder. Raia was headed back to the forest with her head bent low. The way she walked was quite unsteady. He hated to think what she could be feeling but there was nothing he can do.

Now wasn't the right time to be telling her how he felt anyway.

"Kind of," he answered dolefully. "With all of this going down."

Lucia gave him a look of compassion. She patted his shoulder.

"Can't say I'm surprised. Even Charlie is not in his best right now."

Dante merely shrugged. "I actually feel like I've been dipped in shit."

"Aren't we all dipped in shit?" the woman said, lowering her hand.

He snorted. "Good point." Lucia nodded then walked back up the stairs, Nelly tailing after her. The light from the fireplace had already died.

Heaving a sigh, Dante glanced over the forest once more only to see that Raia was not around anymore. Shaking away the dismay that crept up within him he strode toward the kitchen and set his beer bottle on the table. He climbed up to the second floor, seeing Lucia and Charlie whispering to one another outside Andrew's room. Their hands touched for a moment and Dante immediately regretted leaving Raia on her own.

Charlie gave Lucia a smile. She drew away from him, crossing over to his room, shutting the door. The former then turned to Dante who remained watching.

"Can we talk?" he asked. Dante nodded.

The man motioned for him to the side of Andrew's bedroom door. Both of them went, silence eating the corridor up before either one of them spoke.

"How is he doing?" Dante began awkwardly.

"Groggy," Charlie muttered, folding his arms. "He . . . he looks like crap. Who knows how long he has."

Dante loured at him.

"I hope this doesn't make you feel awkward or somethin', but I'm glad you didn't turn on us," the man continued. "You had every right to."

"Turning on you guys was a wrong thing to do."

"I wish your brother could see that."

"He's blinded," Dante agreed. "He spends his time hating on too many people. Hating on me. On Andrew. On all of you."

Charlie scratched his forehead. He sighed.

"Actually, I wanted to apologize about what I said the other day. About how you guys weren't doin' good in this group. I didn't mean it. I just . . . I'm way too tired seein' more people I care about get killed."

Dante grimaced. "It's okay. There's nothing to apologize for."

Charlie gazed at him. He shook his head, forcing a grin.

"There is. I could just be a total douche sometimes. I don't think twice about what I say." He nodded to Andrew's door. "I've kept you long. He's waitin' inside." He walked away and headed for his room. Dante was left alone in the corridor.

He faced Andrew's bedroom door, raising a hand to open it when he hesitated. He grasped the cold metal of the knob, turning it and pushing the door open. He stepped inside, looking down on Andrew who straightened from his seat on his bed. He was wearing a short-sleeved dark-gray shirt, exposing his bandaged arm which was tied in a medical sling.

Charlie was right. He looked like crap.

"How are you feeling?" Dante began. His throat had gone dry.

"Barely hanging in there," the old man replied calmly. "All the skin from my arm and shoulders are gone, but I don't feel any pain. It's the stab wound from the Yamato that hurts a lot."

Dante only stared at him. He stood there with his hand still on the doorknob.

"Please," Andrew said. "Have a seat." He beckoned to the armchair to his left.

He did as he was told.

"Lucia told me Dave had already explained everything to you and Charlie." The man scrutinized him with his wrinkled eyes. His thick brows furrowed in a curious manner.

Dante nodded.

Andrew sighed.

"I'm sorry, Dante. I'm sorry I hid all those things from you. I know I shouldn't have for it only made Vergil go away. But every time I remember it all, how it happened, how Catherine was ruthlessly killed and how I thought Lonan died—all this pain right now are nothing compared to how I feel every single day. It's also why I wanted to save Enzo. Making all these sacrificial calls, me being forced to abandon him—I cannot do it. Ever since that day, I just cannot make decisions—those that involved sacrificing someone. It has been impossible for me to do. But because of this, Nero—Lonan—is gone." He shuddered. "I only gave myself a reason to lose my son one more time." He stared at his blanket. He covered his mouth as he gave a sob. "I might never see him again. He doesn't even know who I am. He believes his parents abandoned him and he hates them."

Dante bit his lip. He looked away as Andrew began to cry quietly. He angrily wiped the neck of his shirt on his face, hoping the man would not see his tears. He felt as if he was a little boy refusing to let people see that he can cry for fear that they will laugh at him.

"Is there something else you want to tell me?" he said, turning back to Andrew who stopped sobbing and was mopping his face with the back of his hand.

"There is," the man said. "I know Dave told you what he can but I still want to make you understand, from my own words. I was never given the chance for Vergil went out of his way to tell you my story, and I was knocked out flat and Dave was the one who did the explaining. It's unfair to you."

"No," Dante said quickly. "No, Andrew, you don't have to if you can't—"

"I have to. It's the only thing I can do now after all the mistakes I made. And I need someone to forgive me before I die. If I can't see my son again and if Vergil can never forgive me, I want you to listen to me. Please hear me out."

Dante could only gaze. He hadn't really thought of forgiving him. He could recall his mother telling him that she was not blaming Andrew. Maybe he did need to hear him out before he could lash out at him.

He wouldn't be able to even forgive himself if he let the man die thinking everyone hated him.

"Okay," he finally said. "You could just skip the boring parts."

Andrew gave a soft chuckle. He settled in his seat.

"Here we go, then."


End file.
